Under Your Mask
by Thunderscourge
Summary: To Julieta Juris, a man without a face is not to be trusted...but the more she finds out about the mysterious man named Vidar, the more she finds herself wanting to learn more about her enigmatic ally. For Vidar, he finds himself questioning whether he should open up at all and dare bring her into his world of revenge against McGillis. (Julieta/Vidar, Julieta/Gaelio)
1. Trust

"I trust that my performance was satisfactory."

Julieta was surprised that the man she was approaching was already aware of her presence, as he was sitting in his mobile suit's cockpit with his mask turned to look at some mechanical matter related to the suit's controls. A grey mask that was too dark to be considered a shining silver kept her from seeing where his attention actually was, though the black visor pieces were looking at least enough in her direction for her to guess he was seeing her just out of the corner of his eye.

Just how did he do that, anyways? Masks were horribly constricting on vision, and yet here he was a frighteningly skilled pilot despite wearing a mask that had a segment cutting off the space between his eyes and metal in the way of his peripheral vision...

Still, Julieta was indeed pleased by his piloting ability as he implied. In fact she had never seen something like it in her life, and it had frozen her when she was viewing it on the battlefield when she realized that this enigmatic man who rarely spoke and always kept a mask over his face was without a doubt the most skilled one she had ever seen.

"You hit something. That means you are already more useful than Iok."

He did not fight with the ruthless pragmatism she had learned from Galan Mossa, but rather he had transformed battle into a near dance of decisive blows. He disabled suits and spared their pilots by running their mobile suit's heads through with the fencing sword like lances his blue and black god of vengeance brought with it to the battlefield. Without taking one hit he disabled a larger force than Julieta had even gotten to engage by the time of his arrival, and he ended the conflict with the rebels swiftly and without any question as to who was in charge of the situation.

They wouldn't be disturbing order now, that was for sure: those who survived the battle would be able to tell the tale of the blue and black Vidar that tore them apart all on its own, impaling and dodging them as if it was a battle between a man and his personal punching bag.

The masked man who went by the name of Vidar, the same moniker as his mobile suit, finished doing what he was doing with the controls before turning his attention to his suit's displays. His voice was quiet as always as he accepted Julieta's compliment, "It is good to be useful."

His fellow Gjallarhorn pilot finished floating across the hangar to reach his suit, where she stopped herself outside the open cockpit with a hand. Once she steadied herself, and seeing that he wasn't about to be the one to speak, Julieta tried to think through what she came here for.

"About the battle..."

Her incomplete statement drew Vidar's attention to her again, "Yes?"

His gaze pierced her as she hovered before him, standing just in front of the cockpit while she thought of just what to say. Those black slits on his mask were paralyzing when he wasn't speaking, for they hid any look into his soul one could receive from looking at him. Why did she come here after all? It had something to do with that useless buffoon Iok...

Julieta's eyes widened for a moment as she remembered her purpose. Yes, that fool Iok had mocked her after the battle. Apparently he had overheard her communications with Vidar even though his bodyguards had removed him from the actual conflict. Being told by a useless idiot that she was apparently foolishly in love with an unknown man had rankled Julieta, her words about Vidar's style being "extremely beautiful" obviously misconstrued by Iok.

She didn't want this mysterious man getting the wrong idea either. She thought more of him than Iok of course, but she wanted to be sure he understood before Iok might run his mouth off down the road.

After clearing her throat she spoke up with a crisp, direct tone that showed that she was speaking seriously. She was not some lovesick schoolgirl like Iok tried to make it sound when he joked at her expense when they returned, and she did not want to show weakness, "When I said you were beautiful, I meant how you did combat. The finesse you displayed was beyond that of anything I have seen before. I wanted to make sure you did not mistake it for a compliment towards your personal features, for I do not even know what you look like."

Vidar paused for just a moment, as if contemplating her words in some context unknown to her, before turning his focus back to his work, "I understood. I would have been worried if you had been speaking of my face, as beautiful as it may be."

Julieta leant in to try and stare down her ally who she still knew so little about, baffled by the idea that he had just tried to crack a joke. Did he really just do that?

Of course, once she was partway into the cockpit, the hatch began to close and knocked her further inside. It did not slam shut, but rather was a gentle shove that struck her back. As Julieta drifted inside, she cast her gaze back towards the door that had just closed on its own, since Vidar hadn't touched any controls.

"What?"

Vidar seemed to be surprised as well, looking upwards for a moment as he contemplated the mobile suit essentially locking the two of them inside together, "You..."

Hovering now in the middle of the suit, Julieta stopped herself just over the controls as she remained mostly horizontal. Perhaps the suit had some automatic process to close the hatch under certain circumstances? After all, it was not as if the Vidar could make such decisions on its own. To reference the oddness of it, Julieta spoke with a smile as she looked back at the door, "It is almost as if it has a mind of its own."

"You can say that," Vidar looked down from the ceiling to Julieta, his voice still quiet, though traces of exasperation made their way into it, "My apologies. This suit is as eccentric as you or I."

Julieta gave him a scrutinizing look, not understanding what he meant by that. Was it just a special, unique mobile suit? It reminded her a bit of a Gundam, but she wasn't even sure if that was correct since her sensors hadn't been able to identify it as one during the battle. Just Gjallarhorn unit twenty one or something along those lines. Was it a newer model that had yet to be mass produced?

As she contemplated why the Vidar suit could be so special, the man who called himself Vidar gestured to open space on his right, "Here."

While she liked being able to "look him in the eye" even if a mask was in the way, Julieta decided to accept his offer to take a so called "seat" beside him in the oddly spacious cockpit. She felt fortunate that it was not a cramped suit, for she may have stumbled into Vidar himself when the hatch shut if she did not have so much space to right herself.

Ever inquisitive, Julieta decided to push further for information as Vidar went back to quietly ignoring her and working on his suit. It was if he did not care that she was essentially stuck in his suit, though she bet if she asked he could open the door...it just wasn't important at the moment, so she didn't ask about that when so much else was on her mind, "What is it that makes this mobile suit so special?"

"How much do you know of the Gundam frames?"

The simple return question got Julieta wondering how it worked into her suspicions. He just implied that this _was_ a Gundam, even if it did not have the same signature as any known one, "I know that they played a role in what happened a year ago, and that they possess two reactors instead of one. I fought the one named Barbatos and held my own, though I intend to improve my skills so that I may best it next time."

Vidar turned his attention over to her, his voice now taking an apologetic tone, "Unfortunately you may not have the chance. Should the opportunity arise, the Barbatos will fall to my hand."

"This suit does not have the signature of a Gundam. Are you saying it is, even though it is not?" Julieta stared at him intently, hoping to get him to unveil some of the mountain of secrets he had behind him. She would keep mining away until she felt she needed nothing more to understand him completely.

The masked man brought a hand to the controls, gently gliding it over them as he thought in silence, "In a sense, yes."

That was not a complete admission, but it would have to do. So it was a Gundam, but not? That could mean that it was a normal suit modified to be like a Gundam, or a Gundam modified to be something more. If it was the latter, just who was this man that he could possess a Gundam of his own?

Having seen the Vidar in action however, Julieta was enthused by the sight of its controls...would she be as capable, as graceful, if she were to pilot it? Was it the man's own skills, or did he just possess a suit that was so far beyond the capabilities of their enemies that they had no chance even if they were against a novice or an Iok?

"Could I pilot this mobile suit?"

"I..."

That question actually seemed to strike Vidar, as he paused completely, not saying anything as he looked up at the ceiling again. After some contemplation however he finally returned to looking over at Julieta, though it was a sideways glance through his mask rather than a direct one like before.

"I do not know. That would be for the Vidar to determine. If he would let you, then yes."

His words brought a smug grin to Julieta's face. Did he really just call the mobile suit a man? Perhaps he was sillier than she thought, "He? And here I thought you to be above calling machines what they're not."

Another pause on his part, one that made Julieta wonder if she offended him by dismissing what he said, before he gave a verbal riposte for which Julieta had no true response.

"What is a Human being but a machine made of flesh and blood?"

Contemplating the differences and similarities between a Human being and a machine was not something Julieta had really done in the past, having just viewed them as machines to be used, but the way he said it made her wonder if Vidar had considered such a philosophical question himself at some point.

Unable to really tackle a question like that without proper research and thought prior, Julieta instead defaulted to repeating something she had said to him during the battle, "You still are weird. Even more than your mobile suit's readings."

"And yet you are here."

Julieta balked as she realized that she indeed had sought him out, and could not claim that it was a one-time thing since she had done so multiple times already. She really did like getting the chance to verbally probe him for whatever glimpses she could unveil about his identity. He was an enigma, a puzzle, and she wanted to solve it. This time she just had an excuse to seek him out, but she did understand the underpinning of what he meant.

She liked talking to him...whatever that meant. He had given her comfort that no-one else had when her father figure Galan Mossa had died thanks to Tekkadan,

Still, it was not as if she could just come out and say such a silly thing, so Julieta deflected with a finger pointed at the hatch she still hadn't ask to have opened, "Your mobile suit had a part in that."

"But not the whole part."

Julieta could not see his reaction, but she certainly felt like she was blushing. Why did he have to say it like that? It wasn't like she was stalking him or anything. After all, she only came by to see him every now and again...well, maybe sometimes multiple times on the same day, but could she be blamed for wanting to figure out just what his deal was? Why this man was seeking revenge on McGillis Fareed to the point that he dedicated his life and name to the pursuit?

Hoping to hide her face by leaving, Julieta moved in the zero gravity environment towards the hatch. She could always ask him more another time, when she wasn't being the one pressed, "Open the door."

Vidar tapped his control panel, but the door remained closed. He did so again before sighing as yet again nothing occurred, "I would if I could, but he does not seem to feel like doing so yet," as Julieta returned in a huff to his side, Vidar looked down to her with some interest of his own for once, "Why is it that you are so curious?"

"I..."

Saying she was interested in him and figuring out what made him tick would sound bad, and while she normally did not bite her tongue she did not feel like making a fool of herself. As such, she put on a serious face and shut her eyes, speaking a part of the truth behind her interest in him, "I do not like being surprised."

"You looked up to a man with no name. Is having no face so much worse?" Vidar asked as if he was amused, though his quiet tone kept it ambiguous.

Julieta looked back at him with a sideways glare, "Even if a man has no name, I can still read their face. But because of that special mask of yours, I can't even read your eyes."

"You must find clowns scary then."

She gaped at his odd statement. What did clowns have to do with this?

"What?"

"Face paint can mask a Human's ability to read the expression of the wearer," he explained plainly, as if it just was common knowledge that she ought to have known already.

Not about to let him continue to have this edge up on her, Julieta smirked at him and poked at his mask under where his eye would be, "So you are a clown?"

Her hand pulled back as he tilted his head as if in confusion, his voice lighter than its usual serious inflection, "Am I not funny?"

With her hand now back at her side, Julieta lifted it to tap her nose, "What is funny is that your vision should be clouded by a mask like that. How is it that you see?"

Vidar paused yet again, though this was not so much to think as it was to reach a breaking point of patience. His voice was still polite when he spoke again, but Julieta could see that her constant barrage of questions was actually beginning to eat at him.

Which, to her, meant that this whole Vidar thing wasn't who he truly was...deep down he was a normal Human being with regular emotions. He wasn't so stoic after all, even if he still had a polite bent to his voice.

"Not to be rude, but must everything be a question?"

He had obliged her questions in the past, so his reluctance to continue doing so now actually surprised Julieta. Sure, he never told her just who he was, but he hadn't tried shutting down her inquisition before, "Huh?"

Vidar brought a hand up to touch his metal mask, "The more I say, the less reason I have for wearing this mask."

"And the less reason you have for throwing away your name and taking your mobile suit's instead," Julieta reasoned, revealing the thought she had during the last battle when she thought about how he and his suit possessed the same name. He was trying to throw away his past and to dedicate his entire being to this new identity of his, which must be why he was so adamant about hiding who he was.

"My mobile suit's name..."

The way he said it, it almost felt like Vidar wasn't its true name...which made sense since there wasn't a Gundam named the Vidar. But just which Gundam was it then? There were so many that were still missing for one reason or another, so it was hard to really just guess. It had been so heavily modified that whatever Gundam it had been was merely a skeleton this new machine had been built off of, but that rose the question of why? Was a Gundam not enough? Why would one strip a Gundam apart and rebuild it from the ground up?

Vidar had gone silent again, now looking down at his controls as his mask hid any emotions that might have been playing across his face. He seemed like a nice man, someone who cared a lot, so when she learned that he was dedicated solely to making McGillis Fareed pay for some unknown reason Julieta had been surprised. Here he had been speaking to her in a way after Galan's death so as to divert her from a path of vengeance, and yet he was obsessed with it himself. Was he aware of the dangers of seeking revenge because of his own experiences? Was that why he talked her down from acting with anger and grief after her mentor's passing?

He also defied the idea of a man dedicated to revenge as she expected it to be like: instead of howling in anger, he was always centered and calm. Even in battle he had been stoic and had managed to defeat an entire force of enemies by himself without even showing a hint of his latent anger and desire for Fareed's downfall. He had been a beautiful sight of complete dignity as he swiftly dispatched his foes, not a rabid monster tearing up everything set before him and his goal.

This too gave Julieta an inkling of his true nature, for if he was a lesser man, a more common man, he would be like that. Instead he must have been quite the kind, good man to be acting in this way after whatever major slights he received from McGillis that would drive him to dedicate his life to his ruination.

"How is it that someone so quiet can be after something as repulsive as revenge?"

Drawn out of his thinking, Vidar looked back to Julieta, "How did it feel when you lost the nameless man?"

"I wanted to make them pay. I wanted to be there, so I could have helped him. You know that though," Julieta explained, her voice steady as she explained the feelings she had since locked down. As Vidar had said, thinking that her being there would solve everything diminished the man who died, "Galan Mossa" , and his own capabilities and Julieta would never dare dishonor his memory after he did so much for her.

With this feeling re-established, Vidar spoke again in a more wistful voice, "I too have lost those I cared for, thanks to Fareed. And what I did not lose to death, I lost in spirit."

Hearing perhaps the most personal admission Vidar had yet to give her caused Julieta to gawk briefly before reconstituting her neutral expression. McGillis had taken people from this man just like Tekkadan had stolen Galan from her...to lose multiple people who held such meaning was almost beyond Julieta's comprehension, for she only had Galan and Rustal, but just thinking of how she might feel if someone were to take both of them from her...she almost shivered at the thought of that.

So that was why Vidar was so willing to go to such lengths to bring McGillis to justice...had he been wronged as well, though? The way he said it, this was for those he cared for, but Julieta understood from Rustal's praise of Vidar that Vidar knew quite well about how McGillis operated and thought. So he had to know him personally to some degree, right? Then had McGillis harmed him as well?

Given her lack of verbal response, Vidar continued to talk to Julieta of his grudge, "So long as he lives, someone I care for is in danger. I will take revenge for those lost to his ambitions, and in doing so free another from the threat he poses."

Did McGillis have a hostage against the man known as Vidar? Julieta winced as she tried to think of how she would react to having Rustal or Galan in danger thanks to another...in a position she was helpless to aid them.

"A friend of yours?"

Another pause, as befitting his quiet nature, then he spoke in an even quieter voice while looking away from Julieta.

"Someone closer."

Thinking through his words though, Julieta felt some anger swell within her. Partially at McGillis for being such a seeming monster towards so many others and for seemingly ruining this man's life to the point he would cast aside his identity, but at Vidar for not having kicked down Fareed's door and killed the man for daring to hold someone he cared for against him. For not seeking direct revenge yet, instead hiding behind Rustal and directing him in ways to defeat Fareed by proxy. Why did this man not take the fight right to McGillis himself?

Julieta narrowed her eyes at her ally, "How can I trust a man who does not just go and protect someone that close to him? Who sulks for revenge, rather than fighting to save someone they care for?"

His response was quiet still, though it contained a bit of an edge to it as well, "I do not ask that you trust me. Nor do I want you to."

Already a little upset, this feeling deepened in Julieta as confusion also began to mingle with it, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"My friend we spoke of, who fought for his pride, trusted me. He trusted me with his life, and he paid for it with everything he had. I was not strong enough to repay the faith he gave to me."

With that, most of Julieta's anger shifted to pity. He had been speaking of someone who was either dead or not far off before...was their pain and possible death a result of McGillis too? Just how much had been taken from Vidar?

Still, Julieta had her pride too, and so she used the remaining traces of her anger to try and say something that wasn't wholly sympathetic. She didn't want to reveal the pity she was feeling towards him even as her face unveiled it for her.

"Why would he place his life in the hands of someone so...weird?"

"Why do you follow Rustal, or the nameless man?" came Vidar's simple response, answering a question with another question once again.

Julieta frowned as she thought of what he was trying to imply, "They took me in when no-one else would..."

Was this friend of Vidar's so much like her, as Vidar once implied? Did Vidar show him the kindness Rustal and Galan had given her all of this time?

Her thoughts would be soon answered as Vidar gripped the controls of his Gundam with seeming anger, losing his calm aura for once, "Others looked down upon him and tried to trample his pride. I saw him for the man he was, rather than what he was, and for that reason I am the one sitting in this seat and not him."

Someone else might know what to say, or know how to comfort him, but Julieta was at a complete loss. She was a horrible people-person, and so she lacked the learned behaviors for consoling others. It took her a moment, but she tried to think what Galan might do to someone in such pain...which was how she found herself placing a hand on his shoulder. Her mind had contemplated hugging him instead, but she quieted that voice given how unprofessional it would be to act that way around a comrade...particularly one she did not even know the face of. That was how she rationalized it to herself, but she wasn't even wholly convinced of it.

Vidar kept his head down as he thought of the failure he felt he had on his shoulders, the specifics still unknown to Julieta, "It is my fault, and I do not wish to drag any others with me into this abyss."

Still unsure of how to continue, Julieta decided that a course change was in order. Or rather, an unsubtle changing of the subject.

"You really are talkative today."

Vidar was quiet at first, as she expected, but when he did speak it sounded like he was amused by her unabashed switching of topics, "What should I do, ignore you? The hatch is locked."

Seeing his hands still tightly clenched on his suit's operating pieces, Julieta got an idea. She moved from her position beside him so that she was hovering just barely above his lap, swinging her thick legs around so that she could fit into the seat as well, now on top of him. This done, she put her hands by his and motioned for him to remove them.

"Show me how the controls work."

With her now on his lap, Vidar seemed baffled as to what to do next, but he still spoke to question what her intentions were, "For what purpose?"

"The more I know of this suit, the better I can fight alongside it. While you have your secrets, why hide those of a machine?" she reasoned, not seeing any reason for him to disagree.

While it was not comprehensive, Vidar did explain to her what some of the controls did indeed do. They were not all that different from a normal mobile suit, but there were some things he didn't bring up that she was going to have to ask him about another time. He was intentionally not speaking of what they did, so they just became new mysteries for her to unravel.

When he was finished with his cursory tour of the controls, Julieta turned to look up at his mask. Something had come across her mind as he obliged her request to learn about the mobile suit, and it was that she was indeed coming to enjoy their time together...but that her lack of knowledge on just who he was made her uneasy around him still.

More than that, she thought of how he had been repaid the last time someone trusted him...she doubted it was entirely his fault like he made it sound, but in her own way she tried to say something that might cheer him up.

"I don't trust you. So you don't have to worry about losing my life, okay? It is mine to use as I see fit."

His surprise came out in the manner of complete silence, Vidar not seeming to know what to say back to that.

She was saying that if she died, he shouldn't blame himself, just in less kind terms...she was sharp tongued as ever, but now she was saying something kind with it.

Since he wasn't speaking, Julieta did instead. She faced forward again and turned her nose up in the air arrogantly, "But when we do fight McGillis, I would not mind aiding you. He is opposing Master Rustal, and so he is an obstacle I must remove. Our interests align quite nicely."

It had obviously come to Vidar's mind that Julieta might confront McGillis, and he did not appear too worried about it, possibly because he intended to be there as well, "It would be best to keep from showing him your hand before you do fight."

"My hand?"

Vidar explained his metaphor to the socially inept woman, "How you fight, the cards you hold. He can analyze fighting styles and adapt as needed to counter them."

Turning on top of his lap, Julieta brought a hand to touch Vidar's chest, "Did he use your weaknesses against you when he hurt you?"

The touch seemed to unnerve Vidar, or at least unnerve him as much as anything could, and he looked away from her, "I think that is enough for now. Has your curiosity been sated?"

Julieta frowned up at him, not wanting to stop now, "No. And it will not until I know who it is I am fighting beside."

He did not budge, and she realized he was indeed intent on not revealing any more that day. Because of this she removed herself and moved towards the cockpit's entrance, which began to open now as if on its own since Vidar was not touching any of the controls.

Turning around to face Vidar as she drifted out to the entrance, Julieta had an idea which she thought would benefit them both, "I shouldn't let McGillis know my fighting style until the moment we battle, but would you mind sharing ours over a simulation battle? You can perhaps teach me some of your grace and beauty in piloting a mobile suit, and if you know how McGillis fights, then I would like to learn of that as well."

Some might call it an excuse to spend more time with him, but she would argue vehemently that it was just to improve their skills as pilots.

Vidar looked up again for reasons unbeknownst to his visitor, "If you please, but I will have to see how he thinks of it. A simulation battle may not be worthy of him."

So he was still acting like the maybe-Gundam was a person and calling it a he? Julieta smirked as she turned halfway around to leave, "Goodbye, weird man."

"Goodbye, monkey."

If she had not already kicked off from his suit to leave, Julieta would have stopped to confront him over him calling her that, "Did Iok tell you to say that?"

"I would not know. Just as I would not know what a butterfly tastes like."

While she drifted away Julieta sighed before smiling at the masked man who still continued to amuse her with each thing she learned about him, "Now I have more questions."

"We each have our idiosyncrasies others find weird."

As he spoke, she finished turning around and she returned to the railing and walkway to exit the hangar. As he watched her leave from behind, Vidar watch the powerful kicks of her legs and the force she threw behind her movements to pull herself out of the hangar's zero gravity environment. Just as she had not expected beauty from him, he did not expect such strength from her when they first met.

Looking back to his suit, Vidar mused, "If you are beauty, does that make me the beast?"

Unanswered, he watched the petite Gjallahorn officer named Julieta Juris leave. For the first time in a year, Vidar felt as if he had someone he could trust and talk to...even if she continued to say she did not trust him in return.

"Julieta..."

If someone were looking and there was not a mask obscuring it, they may have seen him smile.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed. If you have any thoughts, please leave them in the reviews below, and if you would like to see more please let me know! This is technically a oneshot, but if people wish I can always add more.**_


	2. Friendship

_**Special thanks to Shinn, Angel-no-Crux, and LockmanCapulet for your reviews on our first chapter. Also thanks to mechSpeck who favorited and followed the story, in addition to Angel-no-Crux and LockmanCapulet doing the same. Your support means a lot, and I hope you all continue to enjoy.**_

 _ **With this chapter I have decided to start taking things in a canon-divergent direction, though not too-too far so that I can blend canon in as it becomes available. Just a warning in case people were wondering about that.**_

 _ **I hope you all enjoy, and I hope to hear your thoughts in the reviews below!**_

* * *

"Off to see that man again?"

Julieta paused to turn and see that behind her was the dark skinned son of the Kujan family, Iok in all of his incompetent glory: he carried himself in a way that belied pride and confidence, but in all of her experience working with him Julieta had never been anything but irritated with how useless he was. If he were to come to any harm it would be as damaging as the losses of Carta Issue and Gaelio Baduin a year before, whose failures painted Julieta's opinion of this blueblood since the moment they met: he was just some noble family's kid who thought that because he was wealthy and came from a distinguished lineage that it meant that he too was somehow gifted. He likely thought of himself as some kind of hero of a story, when in fact he was just a valuable piece on the board that ought not to see any play with its tendency to put itself at undue risk.

She considered herself the opposite: Rustal and Galan Mossa had taken her from being nothing to where she was today thanks to her skills and the abilities she demonstrated each step of the way. Unlike Iok, she had to earn her keep, and he regularly got in the way of her further demonstrating her worth by requiring her to babysit him so that any random enemy soldier would not kill Iok and upset a great many people, who would likely pass the blame along to the people tasked with looking after him...up to and including her, and to have such a disgrace on her shoulders whether rightly earned or not would likely impact her ability to continue serving her master.

This irritation was ever present in her conversations with Iok, and feeling her tension rise made Julieta think...why couldn't Kujan be more like Vidar? Vidar was only here too thanks to Rustal, just like Julieta herself, and he was immensely skilled so he was well worth the special circumstances concerning his affiliation with Gjallarhorn.

Julieta turned her attention away from Iok as she continued to move on her way towards the hangar where her Reginlaze and Vidar's...Vidar were stationed to engage in simulation battles, "We are going to be doing mobile suit drills. I would say that you should join us to hone your abilities, but you have none so you would only be in our way."

Iok shook a fist at her as he yelled, "What was that!?"

"All you will do on the battlefield is die if you keep fighting with no talent, so you ought to leave combat to us," Julieta explained, not bothering to look back at him even as he began to follow her.

Iok's tone was a mixture of scathing and smug, "You think too highly of him. Anyone with a suit that has three reactors could outperform someone with one. If I used his mobile suit I would be the superior combatant surely, since I have not had to rely on such a machine."

Julieta finally turned around to look at him with both of her eyebrows raised, "You are amazing..."

The seeming compliment actually stopped Iok in his tracks, and after a moment of surprised gaping he spoke back with a smirk, "Oh, you think so?"

Dismissively turning back around, Julieta gave him the cold shoulder, "Yes. It takes a unique type of fool to think so highly of so little. Stay out of our way."

Incensed once again, Iok revitalized his complaints, "Do you really think you can trust someone who doesn't even tell us who he is? Who doesn't even show us his face? A coward like that won't spend a second abandoning his allies."

"Whether he is trustworthy or not, we share the same goal, and he has the skills to carry it out."

 _Unlike you_ were the words she left unspoken, but which Iok still felt as if they were a smack in the face.

If he wanted kinder words, he would have to earn them, just as Julieta had earned everything she had.

* * *

"This person McGillis has who you care for, who are they?"

Vidar looked up and saw that once again he was being approached by Julieta, who finished floating over to his mobile suit before sitting herself down on the hatch of the cockpit. She doubted that it would malfunction again like before, so she paid it no mind as Vidar went back to working with the machines that would hook up to a machine to allow for its combat simulation.

Since he wasn't speaking, Julieta determined that he did not care to answer the question, causing her to ask another in its place.

"You're quieter than you usually are. Just how deeply do you care for this person?"

She figured that if she found out his motivations, she could not only figure out who he was, but also better understand this "revenge" of his. When he took to the battlefield it certainly did not feel like he was just a vengeance fueled monster, so just what was going on in that head of his? His mask might hide his face, but bit by bit his words revealed the man behind it.

Vidar sighed as he realized that just ignoring her questions was not going to get her to stop, "Perceptive, but, besides trying to figure out who I am, I do not see what purpose you have for knowing such information."

Not discouraged, Julieta leaned forward to look more closely at him as he worked on the mobile suit to ready it for their training. He insisted on handling so much of this machine's maintenance that it actually both impressed and confused Julieta: surely he could be spending his time more productively since they _had_ a team of people for work such as this, but at the same time it showed a dedication and focus that was absent in many Gjallarhorn pilots.

"If you are fighting to protect someone you care for, you are a better man than someone just seeking blood."

The part of Julieta that drove her to continue inquiring about what made her fellow pilot tick also was seemingly trying to find evidence to combat her natural suspicion of him: it was not just that she was suspicious, but she was beginning to feel like she _wanted_ to be proven wrong about how his enigmatic persona struck her and set off the many alarms she had grown up to possess. A masked man with an agenda screamed 'threat', but Julieta felt that she wanted to know that he wasn't.

Following her words and her train of thought, Vidar examined them by pointing out the lack of stated ramifications, "And if I am a better man?"

"Then maybe I can trust you finally."

Julieta stood up and looked down at the man whose skintight outfit did little to hide how well built he was. Tall and quite muscular while remaining somewhat lean, Vidar was certainly atypical in his body type...perhaps a study of Gjallarhorn officers of certain proportions would be in order? It's not like everyone was over six feet tall and built like a...

She stopped herself when she realized she was not sure what she was about to fill into that blank, and also not sure if she wanted to know. So what if he was physically attractive? They were professional soldiers, of course he ought to possess a certain tone to his muscles.

Shaking these thoughts away, Julieta spoke again with determination: determination born both of conviction in her words as well as fervor born of not wanting to think about where her mind had gone moments before, "If you know who someone is inside, you don't need to see their face. Knowing your name would be knowing what you are, while knowing why you fight and for who you dedicate your life explains just who you are."

This was true for her, and she believed it would be true for him: she defined herself by her service to Rustal and it was the very core of her being because of the kindness the man had granted her, so finding out who the people Vidar revolved his life around and why would solve her puzzle in a way of just who he was...perhaps not his name, but his character and convictions.

Julieta paused as Vidar finally looked up to her again, the black visor pieces to his mask hiding his eyes from her piercing gaze. Even now as she grilled him for information that could lead to her unraveling his identity he remained calm, composed...he possessed in him an aura that Julieta felt conflict her own: while she could be unflappable in her appearance, it always came with a strong current of her attitude that would rise against anything that stood in the way of her goals in serving Rustal Elion. Vidar on the other hand seemed to rarely get agitated, rarely be stirred from his stoic facade. Entering battle did not rile him up like a life and death battle ought to have, it instead seemed to soothe him as if he was seeing an old friend for the first time in ages.

What would interest Julieta though is what would be more important to this man: his vengeance towards McGillis born of past grievances, or the protection of the person he cared for?

For Julieta, she was set on living her life now to serve Rustal, even if the bearded man who once went by the name of Galan Mossa was gone and his killers were still out there. She still had her master left, and so she would use what power she had to carry out his will rather than wasting it and disgracing the memory of her now deceased mentor.

Vidar's response was not actually to her words, but rather a statement of their present situation as he came to finish setting up the mysterious Gundam, "My suit is ready. We should get started."

Julieta smirked as she kicked off of his suit's hatch to begin floating towards her Reginlaze, "I won't go easy on you."

"That is fortunate, for I did not intend to let my own skills rust. It would defeat the purpose."

That it would, and Julieta would never have forgiven someone who just toyed with her.

* * *

"Again."

The battle simulations had been going on for over two hours when Vidar had decided to pause. Julieta though was not content with this, for she had not managed to overcome her companion and his nearly impossible to track mobile suit. It moved at such a speed that Julieta was shocked in their first few rounds as she tried to figure out a way to counter such speed, only to then spend the rest of their practice session failing to implement her reasonable plans to counteract his speed thanks to the performance in their machines just being that far apart.

His style was almost painfully simple, leaping towards his target with his sword used like a lance to run through his opponent faster than they could react. Fortunately for her, Julieta was no slouch and was able to try and react to these attacks, but so far she had failed to actually return any blows to Vidar as even the attacks she narrowly avoided or parried were then followed up with another would-be fatal strike if these were actual battles.

In short, he had utterly trounced her and Julieta had been growing upset as she continued to realize their present skill gap as well as just the difference in their machines' performances. Her Reginlaze was a powerful machine, far better than those old Grazes, but even it could not keep up with the Vidar and its pilot of the same name.

Having sensed her growing frustration, Vidar stopped the simulation before she crossed the line from angry at herself to angry at him. Now out of his suit, he floated over to where Julieta was begrudgingly opening her cockpit, "Learning to admit defeat is an important part of battle. Forfeiting before you forfeit your life is something only some learn in time for when they are put in that situation."

With him hovering in front of her cockpit, Julieta felt indignant as she stared the other pilot down. Her amazement at seeing him fight was severely lessened when it was her on the receiving end, and even though he was offering her a hand to help her out of her cockpit Julieta did not feel like accepting it just yet, leaving her just looking out at him from her seat with a pouting face on, "You don't give up. You have spent every moment since whatever McGillis did to you plotting his downfall. Right?"

In truth, now that they stopped Julieta was beginning to feel aches in her body from the long combat session. She had been through longer, but nothing she could remember facing in any battle or drill compared to the utter humiliation she just suffered from the agile suit she struggled to just keep her suit's vision on.

Able to tell that her pride was going to leave her there in the cockpit not accepting his help, Vidar decided to retract his hand and instead use it to point to something else in the hangar, "There is another reason for us to leave things here for now. It seems you have duties to attend to."

Julieta looked and could see that an attendant for Rustal was standing around, seemingly waiting for her to finish without directly pressuring her to do so. That meant that Rustal wanted to speak to her, but that it would not be an urgent affair.

Her duty calling, Julieta exited her cockpit and narrowed her eyes at Vidar on her way out, not being the most gracious of losers since she despised the feeling of failure, "Don't think that this is over. Just because I lost now does not mean I always will be your inferior."

"It is unfortunate that our machines are not equal, but they are what we will be going into battle with, and so they are the tools we must acquaint ourselves with."

His words actually gave Julieta some comfort, as it felt like he was implying that if all things were equal with their mobile suits that it would be an actual competition. Her rising irritation stemmed, Julieta smirked to herself as she floated past some soldiers who had been watching Vidar with interest since he left his mobile suit.

"That guy is weird."

"Quite. He certainly is a char—"

She didn't bother to wait around and finish listening to them babble about Vidar being a 'character', since she honestly didn't care what their opinions were. Maybe if they would distinguish themselves and earn her notice she would pay their words mind. But, as things stood, she was fine even ignoring one of the Seven Stars so she was fine dismissing these soldiers as well. If they weren't Rustal or someone else she respected, why bother with them at all?

Rustal's attendant didn't need to guide Julieta to where his office was on their ship, but they did so anyways without a word. Once she arrived they left, with Julieta saluting her superior officer as she felt she should.

"Master."

Elion smiled at her as the door closed at the attendant's departure. He seemed calm, which helped confirm Julieta's suspicion that this wasn't an urgent issue, though it made her begin to wonder just what it could be.

"Thank you for coming. I am sorry if I interrupted your training."

Julieta didn't feel like talking about said exercises so she instead cut straight to the point, "Is there a new mission, Master Rustal?"

"Not yet. This meeting is to discuss a certain ally of ours," Rustal's smile turned into a wide grin as Julieta's face showed that she knew who he was talking about even without saying his name, because who else could he possibly mean? "The masked man who goes by the name Vidar has made quite a name for himself since our last battle after all. It only makes sense that we would speak of him as are many others here."

Not sure what to say or do just yet, for she knew he had something he wanted to bring up specifically or ask, Julieta kept quiet and let Rustal continue forward with his eventual query.

"What is your opinion of him?"

Standing straight at attention, Julieta's response took some thought but came out once she decided how she wished to convey him to her superior officer to whom she owed everything, "He is our most useful asset, sir. He is knowledgeable of our enemies' tactics, and he possesses combat skills beyond even my own."

This strong appraisal seemed to amuse Rustal, who gave Julieta a questioning eye even as he remaining grinning, "It is rare for you to seem so fond of another."

She might have been oblivious as to what he was implying in a joking tone if not for how Iok had mocked her over the idea of her 'liking' Vidar in a less than professional manner. If she was not tasked with protecting him, Iok might be in the infirmary for daring to suggest such a thing after the battle.

To further dispel what others seemed to be seeing that she herself was unaware of, Julieta shook her head and spoke plainly, "It is merely an assessment of his value, sir."

With that said, Rustal casually sailed straight into his actual reason for calling Julieta into his office, "Very well. You would not mind keeping an eye on him for me, would you?"

This simple request actually surprised Julieta, who until then had been pressuring Vidar for information with no other purpose but to suit her own curiosity and settle her unease with working alongside someone with no face. Now, the idea of being _told_ to inspect Vidar...it felt wrong in some ways. Until now Vidar had given her information about himself that was obviously outside of the comfort zone he possessed on the subjects, meaning he at least respected her enough to tell her these things, while this would mean that she was investigating him for their superior officer...it felt like a breach of trust, the thought of which made her come to realize that she was indeed growing closer to Vidar. He was the only one outside of Rustal who she regularly interacted with now, but unlike Rustal she didn't owe him a debt of gratitude. Instead, she respected him while mistrusting him...an odd state to be in, but it was how she managed to tie together the fact that he was a superb pilot and combat partner with how secretive he was.

Just to be sure of what she was being asked, Julieta inquired further, "Do you mean you want me to spy on him?"

Her reaction almost caught Rustal by surprise, but he met it still with an amused smile, "Do you object?"

Hoping that there would be some justification behind this so that she could ease her conscience, Julieta dodged the question while asking one of her own, "Has he done something wrong?"

"I would just rather be appraised of his actions, motivations, and other information that might prove relevant if in this conflict we find ourselves at odds with one another. I do not currently foresee such a situation, but one must always be ready, and you are the only one who he seems to be spending time with."

Rustal had become serious, and it was obvious to them both what Julieta would next say now.

"Understood, Master. I will see to it that any information you would need is passed along."

"Very good. You are dismissed then. There are some things I would have you handle in the meantime, but I heard you were training with him before coming here. Go ahead and continue doing so. I want my two best pilots at their best for when we confront McGillis and that upstart group Tekkadan who he likes working with."

With that, Rustal dismissed a now troubled Julieta back into her day of pestering Vidar...only, now she was doing so under direct order.

* * *

"Something is on your mind."

Julieta frowned at Vidar as he looked over to her as they stood idly in the hangar, Vidar having been doing whatever it was that he did when she wasn't around, and Julieta now returning but not having directly approached him just yet.

"You usually do not hesitate to ask your newest question when you come to see me."

Her shake of her head was both to dismiss what was on her mind as well as to disagree with his premise, "I was thinking. That is all."

"Your voice is laced with regret," Vidar responded, having tuned in to the underpinnings of her tone.

Julieta realized that in her thoughtful trance after leaving Rustal's office that she had not used the same measure of control over her voice as she would normally, so she very well may have just accidentally let some of her inner conflict make its way out into her voice, not that she would admit it, "Oh? Why would I feel regretful over?"

Vidar leaned forward on the railing they stood by, his arms apart and his hands grabbing it as he took a casual stance of using it to support him, "That is what I want to know. Most likely though it has to do with the man you call your master, for I cannot think of someone else who would bring you pause."

Julieta's silence told Vidar what he needed to know, and so he turned the tables on her with their little game of question and answer, "This question game can go two ways it appears. So, what did Rustal ask of you that has left you thinking before you confront me?"

That he was so astute irritated Julieta, but she had to admit that if he could understand someone as scheming as McGillis, he probably could pick out a few things from other people too. As if to prove her point, even as Julieta averted her gaze from him, Vidar pierced through her defense born of pseudo ignorance.

"Of course, the only logical explanation is that you are uncomfortable with him asking you to keep an eye on me. And I understand. If I were him I would want to keep someone with the power of a Gundam under close surveillance too, for to have such a threat turn on you would be a fatal mistake."

That he picked her apart so quickly and found out her new mission...Julieta's eyes were wide with shock as she realized that during all this time she has been examining Vidar, he has likely been studying her as well. And since she hid far less than him, she had inadvertently let him inside her own head.

"I do not need to change my behavior or actions in any way to hide from this new circumstance, so you should go on like it never was even asked of you," Vidar stated, revealing that he did not hold this new development against her as well as that he did not feel as if it changed anything else either. While Julieta was reassured by this, she still felt a pang of regret that now whether he intended to or not he would be a bit less revealing since now everything was essentially a conversation between him, Julieta, and Rustal so long as he asked for information.

Unwilling to address the conversation, Julieta set her sights on something else: offense rather than defense.

"What do you do when you are not working on your mobile suit?"

She still was unsubtle with her subject changes, bringing a small piece of amusement to Vidar's voice as he spoke back, "What do you do in your time?"

Julieta turned her nose up haughtily, glad that he seemed to have taken the bait for the moment and glad to have moved away from talking about her spying mission.

Her duty was her life, and so it only made sense in her mind that things such as practicing her mobile suit skills would be her time-killers. After all, she did not gain the skills to combat someone like Mikazuki 'the devil' by just sitting on her laurels, she had to work each and every day for it. "Prepare for the moment Master Rustal needs of my skills, of course."

"You should find a hobby."

Julieta paled as she realized that her dedication to Rustal could perhaps be likened to how Vidar spent so much time with his suit, since they both would spend a great deal of time doing for seeming fun what others saw as a job, but Julieta would not concede this point since she did not want to verbally admit that perhaps she was as lonely and devoid of a life as this man who seemed to have nothing except his mission. While not one to strive to be normal, Julieta would still object to being defective in certain areas of life, "I spend my time productively. You are the one who should find a hobby."

"Perhaps."

Cryptic, but she had come to expect some answers like that now and again. Not phased by this, Julieta grinned over at the other pilot, "What did you do before you decided to play dress up and put on an odd mask?"

Julieta's smirk faded as she saw Vidar's hands grip the railing for a moment before slowly easing off until they were barely holding it. It wasn't that he was mad at her joke, she could tell that much, but something had struck him as he pondered her question.

Somewhat concerned, Julieta started to reach out towards him when Vidar spoke up suddenly, his voice a solemn note that was quieter than even his normally soft tone.

"I had friends to occupy my time."

His reaction, the pain shown and gone in an instant, left Julieta without a clue of what to say. This was obviously a hard topic for him, and it was not like one of those where he would just let things drift off and things would go unanswered. No, she had uncovered a wound on him that was still healing from whatever trauma inspired this.

It was then that Julieta realized that she pitied him. She pitied whatever this man had gone through, whatever he had suffered to come to this point where he would cast aside his name, cast aside what family and friends he had, all just for the sake of bringing another man to ruin. Whatever it was that McGillis had done, it had hurt this man not only in body but in soul.

"Was McGillis one of them?"

Her question was not meant to probe as much as it might have been had the tone of the conversation been different. No, this was seeking an answer to try and solve just what was going on with this companion of hers in all of his stoicism that seemingly originated from that man who dared to oppose Master Rustal.

Since she was going to receive no reply to the McGillis query, Julieta offered up another question, this one returning to the subject of Vidar's free time and the friends he spent it with, "Well, what did you do with them?"

"It feels like a lifetime ago..." was the response she received, Vidar now looking up as if lost in thought. It sounded as if he had forgotten or just had not thought of such things from his past, as if he had forgotten how to enjoy himself like an actual person...it made sense then to Julieta why he had been so happy when he had been able to take to the field in the recent battle, for it had given him an outlet of sorts. He was able to feel something then he had not felt in a long time.

He was lonely, and he seemed to have a deep attachment to his mobile suit...while his calling it a "he" made Julieta question the depth of his sanity, she still felt her pity welling up for this wounded soul beside her. She wasn't used to feeling this way, rendering her confused of how to deal with this outpouring of positive emotion.

So, to steel herself and not appear wishy-washy, Julieta crossed her arms and turned up her nose again, her mouth a large smirk as she spoke.

"If it keeps you from wallowing in self-pity idly, I suppose I could set aside more time to train with you."

Vidar looked over to her, but the only traces Julieta could get on his feelings were in his seemingly sardonic words back to her.

"Oh? You would do that for a man you do not trust?"

It was obvious bait for Julieta to admit that she had come to like him a bit more than she had stated on the battlefield, but she did not rise to it. Instead, she focused on the solution she had come up with.

"Of course. I only serve to benefit from sharpening my own partner's skills. If you perform well, I will have less to worry about. I already have one useless pilot to look after, I don't need two."

Accepting Julieta's hidden offer of companionship, Vidar turned back to looking forward at their mobile suits, "I hope you are not disappointed when I win again."

Nodding over at them, Julieta showed her dexterity as she swung off the platform using the railing in a way that had her sailing right towards her suit as it stood ready for more combat simulations, "You may have skill and a superior suit, but I won't make it easy."

She heard what sounded like a small yet notably amused exhalation. While floating away from him Julieta turned herself around to face him, and when she was sure he was looking at her she furrowed her brow at her companion.

"Do I amuse you?"

Her seeming irritation caused Vidar to press that button a bit further out of a seeming playfulness, "Perhaps today I came to here to laugh at you."

Dissatisfied with his answer, Julieta turned around again while Vidar himself pushed off the platform to head towards his own mobile suit. On the way he spoke again, seeking to clarify why he had become amused at Julieta's determination to be tough around him.

"No, I was just thinking that someone I knew would like you."

This eased her ego a bit, for him remembering someone and seeing them in her was better than him laughing at her for some reason, "Your prideful friend?"

"Another...someone else who wanted to prove herself better than me."

He said no more, but by then they were both at their mobile suits.

Julieta felt determined to crush him this time around, her pity be damned.

* * *

"I'm done for now. You win."

Unfortunately for Julieta, one cannot bridge such a large gap in a day. While she certainly was beginning to pick up on ways to combat her partner, he still bested her handily during their simulations.

Thinking that his words earlier had gotten to Julieta, Vidar opened his cockpit to stand up and stretch after this second multiple-hour training session, "Learning to admit defeat?"

A stomach growling gave Julieta's response before she did.

"I'm hungry."

She actually wanted to continue, but she was about to pass out from the hunger she realized after having ignored it all day in favor of dealing with this man she was finding herself more and more interested in the further she delved into what she believed to be his psyche.

Another stomach rumbling revealed that while he tried to hide it with a mask, Vidar was a human being as well.

"...I suppose I am too. I have not eaten yet today."

To his surprise, this earned Vidar a death glare from Julieta that he had not expected to receive.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"You beat me while starving. I have a long ways to catch up to you and that suit of yours."

She had at least eaten earlier, but it sounded like Vidar just was completely starved if what he said was true.

That being said...how did he consume food? He didn't eat with others, that was for sure, so did he eat in his room? After all that was likely the only place he could take his mask off safely without someone peeking in on him, and he needed to remove the mask to eat, right?

Well, she hoped the answer to that was yes.

"It makes sense though that you haven't eaten. It must be hard when you wear a mask all of the time."

She received no argument from the man who like her was starving, "Perhaps I should get something then to bring to my room."

Julieta shot him a cheeky grin from where she stood at the edge of her suit's cockpit, "Could I see your room?"

"I think you know the answer to that."

It was then that the two left the mobile suits behind in order to go find sustenance, which fortunately for them was not too far a distance away. The engineers had designed the ships to have cafeterias available near mobile suit hangars so pilots would not have to travel far between deployments in longer battles. However, while it was not a far distance away it still was enough for them to come across someone else who would actually talk to the two of them, as compared to the other soldiers on the way ignoring them outside a whisper or two about the mysterious Vidar.

"Done wasting time in the hangar?"

Julieta did not bat an eyelash as she continued on down the hallway past Iok.

"Vidar, I thought I heard something. Did you hear anything?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, going along with Julieta's mockery of Iok, "It must have been your imagination."

This was not well received by their comrade, who was infuriated by the lack of respect paid to him and his rank, "Hey! I am your superior! You two nobodies better show the respect due to your commanding officer and a member of the Seven Stars!"

Julieta continued on a bit before she realized that Vidar had stopped. While not outwardly showing much in the way of anger, she could with her experience with him tell that he was as close to angry as he got without showing it. Vidar turned back halfway to Iok, who seemed a bit taken aback by actually having received his attention.

"McGillis is a member of the Seven Stars, leading the Fareed family and one day perhaps the Bauduin family. To what do we owe him in terms of respect?"

Iok balked as his argument for respect was crippled, "Some street rat who was taken in does not command the same station and respect as an actual member of the Seven Stars. Perhaps if you knew of our noble lineage, you would understand why."

Vidar finished turning around, now giving a small incline of a bow in a seeming mockery of Iok's supposed intelligence and wisdom on the subject, "What is it that I am unaware of? Explain to me my ignorance."

The son of the Kujan family stumbled on his words as he tried to come up with some retort for his comrade, only to be cut off by Julieta who did not mince any words as she spoke to him.

"Iok, you should let it go. You're losing and we have more important matters to attend to," another growl of her pained stomach signaled that they needed tending to, "Specifically our stomachs.

Julieta speaking up seemed to actually give Iok the words he needed, as he flipped his nose up at her dismissively and spoke down to them both, "As if his little imp-monkey has any say on the matter of who is winning and not," he paused before realizing that he was being passed up for food, "And how dare you imply that satiating your hunger stands above the importance of speaking to your superior officer!"

By then though they had already left, and he had nobody else left to argue with to nurse his pride. While normally affable, Iok really disliked that girl in all of her eccentric nature, and now he was growing annoyed by that masked man now that he had shown Iok up in the last mission and defeated the entire enemy force by himself while Iok had been dragged off the battlefield. For that reason they were both rivals in his book, even if neither of them cared enough about him to stay and chat when they were instead hungry.

"What do you even eat?" Julieta asked as they stood in a line to receive food, others in the line giving them both odd looks though Vidar in particular was receiving the bulk of them.

"I would say food just like you eat, but I do not have a taste for insects."

Julieta rolled her eyes at him as he again referenced how she ate a butterfly, "Neither do I. That was a failed experiment, not a habit."

When they were given meat for their trays in the cafeteria Vidar was met with an interesting sight: the meat on Julieta's plate disappearing in an instant as she basically inhaled it. He stopped moving in the line for a moment after this, so Julieta felt the need to question his sudden pause.

"What?"

"I suppose I just am used to someone waiting for their plate to be filled before they finish half of it."

Sensing that she was being judged, Julieta rationalized her consumption of the meat even before they had received the entirety of their meal, "Wasting time standing around doesn't do anything, so I eat as soon as I can."

"I should teach you proper etiquette sometime, for it appears others have failed to. Think of it as thanks for your company."

Julieta smirked as her partner revealed himself to be of a particular sort of people, her mind trying to imagine someone like Rustal or Iok under his mask now, "So you're one of those upper class snobs? No wonder you have a Gundam."

Vidar sounded a bit offended by the suggestion, though he did not fully deny it either, "One does not need to be Iok in order to know how to eat without discomforting everyone around them."

"Hmmmph. Fine," as they finished receiving their food, Julieta began to stuff it in her mouth and displaying table manners befitting of someone who would just randomly eat a butterfly, "But not today. I am too hungry to learn useless manners."

Once they were free from the line Julieta expected Vidar to just leave, but instead he was standing still again. What was it this time?

"Aren't you going to go back to your room? Why are you staring?"

"Nothing at all," he reassured her, only then to point to what had caught his attention: the bread portion Julieta had been given was completely gone now, leaving an empty space on her tray. The entire tray was almost empty and she had not even sat down yet, "You eat bread awfully fast."

Not seeing why he should care about her bread, Julieta tilted her head, "Did you want it?"

"I have lost my taste for it recently. Perhaps another time."

As he departed, taking with him his tray whether that was allowed or not, Julieta was left behind and thinking about what they just did.

She had gone to go get food with someone and actually had enjoyed his company, and she felt sad he was going off on his own.

Perhaps she could invite him to go get food other times as well? It was not as if she could just regularly eat with Rustal, but it would be better than sitting alone and getting weird looks from her fellow soldiers...though to be fair, she was sure Vidar would give her weird looks as well until she learned how to eat like a normal person.

Still, the idea of eating with someone didn't feel as repulsive and as much of a waste of time as she would have deemed it not too long ago.

Were they friends now?

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear your thoughts in the reviews below! If you want more be sure to let me know, and be sure to favorite/follow so you can keep up with the latest updates.**_


	3. Loyalty

"What is this?"

It was a decently large box with quite the busy design, with most of it covered with the picture of a Graze and the rest covered by text boldly stating that this indeed was a Graze as well as some technical details that didn't catch Julieta's eye.

Why was Vidar handing her a box?

"We spoke before of how you require a hobby. You should not spend the entirety of your life and being just to serve another."

"Oh..."

That would explain the gift, but Julieta found herself still looking at this odd box. Why did it have Gjallarhorn's old standard suit on it? Was it some kind of container for something related to the Graze? Was there a manual of the useless suit inside the box? Or did he just use a box with a picture of a Graze on it to give her something else that was actually a hobby?

Did this man just like collecting boxes? No, that couldn't be it, since it felt like something was _in_ the box...what then?

"Why is this Graze on a box though?"

Julieta felt that he was rolling his eyes at her for a moment before he responded by turning the box around in her hands to reveal another picture on one of the sides, showing a small scale replica of the Gjallarhorn machine that was the staple of their forces, "I hear some hobbyists enjoy building replicas of mobile suits. Unfortunately newer models are unavailable, so consider this predecessor to your suit my gift."

Now _this_ had Julieta's attention. She honestly did have few things to do outside of her military duties, training, and eating, so the thought of having a new task to do was welcome to her...even if it meant essentially constructing what she saw as a toy.

He had brought this to her as she ate a small snack in an officer's lounge on the ship, a place for higher ranking members to gather without being on the bridge or their rooms.

That he suggested such a hobby however made Julieta realize that perhaps, once upon a time, instead of being stoic and detached this man was normal...or even eccentric, since apparently constructing toys was of interest to him.

She also realized that she was blushing a bit from embarrassment. She wasn't used to receiving gifts, and to get one from someone she didn't even know the face of...

Placing the box down on the room's central table, Julieta began to pick apart the packaging to open it while beckoning the gift's giver over to her, "Show me how it is done."

To her surprise however, he crossed his arms while shrugging his shoulders, not acceding to her command, "I am afraid I do not partake in the activity myself."

So he didn't make these himself, but he thought she might be interested? Had it been a whim of his then? Or maybe perhaps a reflection of what he thought of her that even in finding her a hobby he stuck to something Mobile Suit related? Or was he lying just now and in fact did have some history dealing with these? His words were ambiguous enough to perhaps imply that he did not currently do this as a hobby, but that he may have at a previous point.

Regardless, Julieta wanted him to stay for reasons beyond her own comprehension, and so she looked up at him as she finished taking her seat.

"Then now is a good time to start."

It took a moment, but Vidar did come to join her, coming to sit across from her as she finished opening the Graze model's box and laying its contents out on the table. There were sheets of plastic that contained on them small pieces that when removed would be able to be pieced together, Julieta could see, though many of them were not obvious for where they ought to go. For this there was a simple solution, the paper manual which explained step by step how to do this, but Julieta didn't pay any mind to it at first as she had no experience with this activity and thus did not know to look for said aid.

After seeing Julieta glare at the small pieces for a half minute aimlessly, Vidar handed her the manual wordlessly. She took it with some irritation, annoyed she couldn't just figure out how all these minuscule things went together, but she paused when she felt her hand brush against his glove.

Since he always covered his entire body to conceal his identity, she had never even seen his hand, and while it made sense to aid his deliberate anonymity it still sat wrong with her that she had no real clue just who he was. She felt that if she had a couple more pieces of information about him she could piece it all together to figure out just who would have such a massive grudge that they would dedicate their life to revenge against McGillis, but for now she was bereft of such information.

Perhaps less subtly than she hoped, Julieta tried to suggest he give away at least one piece of his identity, his hands, as he then went about removing some of the pieces they needed to use from their plastic container by twisting them off their plastic tree, "Those gloves may get in the way of your finesse."

"An unfortunate result of wearing them, yes."

Vidar's manner of just brushing aside what she was trying to say and get him to do brought Julieta to both smirk and raise a brow.

"Take them off then, since they're in the way."

"I am fine."

His quiet insistence gave Julieta really little recourse in trying to continue her attempt to get another piece of info out of him. Even just seeing his skin could help narrow down who he was, since she had quite the keen eye and could remember whatever sliver of skin he might reveal to then later compare with Gjallarhorn's databases.

Julieta then realized that such a pursuit might be near meaningless given his concealed nature: depending on how long he had been hiding under such clothing, he was almost certainly paler now than however he had looked before. Still, it would be something if she could just see any of his features that weren't just his height and muscular build.

Since Vidar did not have anything more to say and Julieta was trumped on what to follow up with after his small dismissal of her line of dialogue the two fell into silence as they each went about following the instructions to build the Graze model.

"So is this what it's like for the mechanics?"

It had been quite some time, but while looking down at the constructed torso and head of the plastic model Julieta's mind had wandered to thinking of how their mechanics often had to do things like what they were doing, only with actual machines and actually working parts that were far larger than these millimeter long bits of plastic.

Come to think of it, didn't Vidar also work on his suit near obsessively? Perhaps that was why the idea of constructing these was appealing to him if he was such a mobile suit techie.

"More or less, only they have thousands of more parts, and they have to do more than fit together."

Another round of silence fell between them, but it was one Julieta appreciated. Vidar didn't speak without meaning, unlike Iok who said too much whenever given the chance to open his mouth. As they continued for minutes in their silence building parts of the machine in quiet tandem, another thought crossed Julieta's mind as she began to observe more and more of the Graze's details, her mind then linking and comparing them to her suit's own features.

"I am fortunate to have my Reginlaze. These old useless Grazes couldn't even stand up to those children from Mars."

While soft-spoken, there was definitely a bit of an edge to Vidar's reply, "Perhaps it was more than the performance of the machines that dictated the results of those battles."

Sensing this seeming objection to her statement, Julieta reasoned that perhaps he had been one of those to fight Tekkadan in the previous conflict, "Oh? You sound as if you know personally."

He did not address her implication, but rather spoke to the information that was now common knowledge throughout Gjallarhorn, "It is well known that Tekkadan's child soldiers use technology known as the Alaya-Vijnana system to aid them in their battles, a system which vastly improves combat efficiency by linking a pilot to their mobile suit."

Julieta had to admit he had a point, for even in her Reginlaze she had not been able to match up to the main Tekkadan pilot, Mikazuki Augus...though she would like to think that had more to do with how he was using an upgraded Gundam, and while her Reginlaze was a powerful machine it could not completely compete with the ancient suits that had ended the Calamity War. If she, an ace in a powerful custom suit, could not defeat them, then she shouldn't completely look down on those who came before her and failed.

That one man though, Gaelio Bauduin, had used a Gundam against them and lost too...though records had it that the Kimaris Trooper had dealt with the Barbatos Gundam fine in their skirmish on Earth until a Grimgerde, the predecessor suit to the Graze made during the Calamity War, interrupted the skirmish and defeated the Kimaris. That was a mixed bag of success and failure, to be able to fight someone with three of the AV system surgeries but then to be defeated by a simple Grimgerde. Perhaps some other factor came into play in that skirmish for one of the Seven Stars to have fallen to some nameless ally of Tekkadan?

Bringing Julieta back to reality, Vidar spoke again of the AV system used by Tekkadan to overwhelm their foes in the previous conflicts, "To diminish such a factor is to diminish the skill of those who had to fight against such an inhuman foe."

Julieta quietly conceded his point, though she still believed that other Gjallarhorn pilots were beneath her for losing so handily to the enemy on so many occasions...the only ones on their records who had put up any even fight were McGillis himself, Gaelio once his Kimaris was reformatted into its Trooper form, a soldier by the name of Crank Zent from Mars, and that soldier who became that metal monstrosity at the climax of last year's conflict, Ein Dalton. Others like Carta Issue had been brutally beaten to death by the space rats who had come to Earth with little to show for it.

"At least McGillis doesn't have such a technological advantage. I hear he is quite skilled at combat, so he might be quite the challenge if he too possessed one."

Vidar began to say something, but someone entering the room and called Julieta's name.

"Juris! It seems like we are needed on the bridge, so make haste, Monkey."

Iok Kujan paused to look and see that Julieta was not alone as he had thought when his eye first caught her, but he wasn't exactly pleased by the company she kept: it was that weird man who for some reason Rustal was trusting with their plans despite hiding his identity.

"If it isn't mister iron mask himself. I take it I wasn't interrupting anything?"

Julieta dismissively pushed past Iok to exit the room, "You are, in fact, but I suppose your ignorance is to be excused if Master Rustal wishes for us to come to the bridge."

As Iok balked at the disrespect shown to him yet again, Vidar moved past him as well without even acknowledging his presence. With the two of them heading down the hallway to reach the bridge, Iok realized suddenly that he was going to be the last one there now, which could reflect poorly upon him.

"Hey, wait for me!"

* * *

"Should we be readying ourselves for deployment?"

Sitting back in the breakroom, Julieta and Vidar had resumed their construction of the Graze model. Julieta seemed slightly anxious, but this was not out of worry on Iok's behalf but rather worry that she was not the one out doing Rustal's bidding. Iok had requested to handle the mission and so he was going out with his loyal guards, but Julieta and Vidar had been left behind despite both of them having their reasons for wanting to confront McGillis as well.

It seemed that McGillis was going to meet with Tekkadan, who had unearthed a Mobile Armor, the giant threats that had wiped out a quarter of the Human race hundreds of years prior. The destruction of these machines had led to the system of Gjallarhorn where the Seven Stars led matters, their ancestors having been the ones to have destroyed these massive machines capable of genocide. The more a family had destroyed, the higher their prestige among the Seven Stars, and so McGillis was likely out to deal with this Mobile Armor to earn himself an even higher standing within Gjallarhorn.

Iok was going off to confront him, but Julieta couldn't shake the feeling that someone she didn't trust to spell his own name correctly was leading such an important mission without her or Vidar there to compensate for his lack of ability.

"Do you not have faith in Iok's ability to complete his objective?"

It was asked like a genuine question, but Julieta could feel his sarcasm dripping from his words even if they were quiet. It appeared Vidar was not quite pleased with this situation either, but until they were commanded to do anything else, which could be hours and hours, they had little to do but wait. Since both of them regularly maintained their suits, there wasn't even anything for them to do in the hangar, so they had just returned to where Iok had disrupted them to begin with.

"I have faith in his ability to cause trouble for others," Julieta sighed, knowing there was nothing she could do until either Iok returned or she was ordered to go save him from whatever mess he would undoubtedly cause.

She received a nod from Vidar, who was continuing to help her with the last pieces of the Graze model. While only a hundredth of the size of the actual thing, Julieta did admire the detail put into this replica, and she looked forward to finishing it. She supposed that once it was done she could put it up on a shelf

"Still, it's good to have some peace and quiet for once. We should send Iok out more by himself, or better yet leave him behind while we go out instead."

"Perhaps him being out of the way would benefit us."

Julieta was actually surprised with how such a simple statement could sound so ominous when said by someone whose voice was so quiet. Whether he meant to or not, it sounded like Vidar was suggesting they would be better off without Iok...specifically, him being alive. He could also have meant that they would just be better off with Iok not taking to the field and distracting his own allies, but Julieta couldn't decipher which he truly meant.

The whole situation though was a result of the Seven Stars and their political jousting, something which Julieta was surprised to learn that Vidar was quite knowledgeable of. It actually made her quite suspicious of him, since it would seem to imply he had some link to them, while also perhaps explaining his grudge against McGillis: if Vidar had worked with or known McGillis, he would likely know a fair deal about the Seven Stars just as Julieta knew from her time with Rustal. Such a possible relationship could be the source of his revenge, for with how manipulative McGillis could be there was a fair chance that he had done something to Vidar in their time together.

"How do you know so much about the Seven Stars? Is it your obsession with McGillis?"

This question into his inner workings actually seemed to be one Vidar was willing to answer, for it took him only a moment before nodding, "In a manner of speaking, yes. I did not have much of an interest in the Order until it became apparent that it holds great meaning to McGillis."

Julieta nodded back, though his implication that he only just recently came upon the knowledge or just really took an interest in it not too long ago did not help her theorizing about his identity, "I know what I do thanks to being around Master Rustal."

"He thinks highly of you."

Being reminded that she was _the_ handpicked pilot who served Rustal Elion and carried out his will caused a swell of pride within her, one which Julieta was willing to express, "I am proud to hold Lord Elion's esteem. He does not grant his favor to just anyone."

"Then perhaps we are more alike than you think, for he has shown me the same grace you have received."

Julieta crossed her arms as she finished the piece she was working on, a smirk beginning to grow on her face as she looked up at her tall partner, "Then it is our duty to serve him and repay what we have been given. Unlike Iok, we know to appreciate what we have and be grateful to those who we owe it to."

This gave Vidar some more pause before he responded, though when he did it was with a sigh, "Some have to learn firsthand."

Cryptic as ever, but Julieta was beginning to find that it was an enticing rather than alienating quality. He would leave small hints bit by bit of who he was, all the while shrouding the answer by not giving enough for any of the hints to be meaningful. His seeming good nature helped feed into this, for she no longer felt like she was an inquisitor interrogating a possible threat but rather a friend seeking to know more about their companion. Even if Rustal wanted her to keep an eye on Vidar, she personally didn't see much reason for it.

Smirking still at him, Julieta decided to play a bit with the idea of him concealing his identity even though there were basic ways to unravel it without his approval, "You know, I bet a bit of your hair has slipped out somewhere. Maybe I could find it and narrow down who you are?"

Vidar held for the briefest of moments to his wrist a small knife they had been using to free the plastic parts from where they were bound to the plastic outlines, then removed the knife to go back to his work on the model, "Maybe if I bleed on you the search will be even narrower."

Julieta was partially tempted to just go the easy route and use mundane ways to discover who this was, like his height, approximate weight, a piece of hair, any kind of fingerprint...but she refrained from such easy solutions since it would not only kill the fun of discovering it all on her own, but also because it would feel like she was violating his privacy. He didn't want to have others know who he was, and she was respecting that...in a way.

"Do you shave your head? I bet your hair gets all messy under that mask."

This was a fun, relaxing little game to Julieta now, and she was definitely coming to appreciate being able to spend her free time with someone now. Rustal was often busy, and Iok was an idiot, so she had been quite lonely while assigned to the fleet, but now she had a companion who she could both tolerate and who in turn tolerated her own oddness. She did her best to hide it while she was on duty or in a professional setting, but even she would not make the argument that in a general sense she was a normal person.

"Or perhaps I have longer hair than you and this mask is thinner than you think."

"Just take it off and we can see for ourselves."

Vidar slowly shook his head side to side, "As enticing as that may sound, I am afraid I will remain the masked phantom of this ship for at least a little while longer."

That perked up Julieta's attention, since it sounded like he didn't intend to indefinitely hide his identity, "Oh? Is something going to change?"

"If McGillis is defeated, I will have no reason to hide."

It made enough sense...though if the current mission assigned by Rustal went according to plan, then McGillis would be arrested for planning rebellion by overthrowing the Order or something along those lines, and Vidar would be deprived of a true chance at vengeance.

Still, it would mean McGillis would be ruined...would that be enough for this man?

"Then if Iok does his job today you'll take your mask off?"

Vidar said nothing back, but Julieta got the feeling that yes, he would. The idea of finally discovering his identity, either through her own amateur sleuthing or through his own will was quite enticing, and it made Julieta think something contrary to her normal mindset that not only expected Iok to fail, but in a way was coming to enjoy it just because it highlighted her point that he was useless and in the way. Hopefully he would learn that sooner rather than later.

"For once, I'm hoping that fool comes back having accomplished something."

If Iok captured or killed McGillis, then perhaps Vidar wouldn't have to murder the man as Julieta was quite sure he intended to do...and she would get to see his face.

* * *

"Contact from Iok's advance team has ceased."

Of course it had. Because having Iok actually take care of a matter on his own was asking too much of the incompetent fool, particularly in this case where the mission was not only concerning a grave matter but would require Iok to act with some degree of intelligence above 'shoot wildly at the enemy and hope you hit them'. Apprehending McGillis was too complex for a mind as simple as Iok it would seem, since there was a fair chance in Julieta's mind that Iok and his men had allowed McGillis or his allies to somehow overwhelm them despite possessing the element of surprise.

"Have they been wiped out?" Julieta inquired, hoping to receive more information about the situation from Rustal who was speaking to them over a communication screen from his own bridge. Standing on Iok's bridge, Julieta and Vidar had come once again to learn about what was happening on Mars. It seemed that McGillis' hunting of the Mobile Armor had become a more complex matter now with Iok's team not responding anymore.

Rustal unfortunately could not confirm Julieta's hypoethesis, "I don't know. The Mars Branch knows nothing too."

Looking up, Julieta did her best to hide her displeasure at not knowing the situation's exact severity, "That's a problem."

Vidar spoke up next, his left hand on his hip while he came up with an alternative explanation for things, "We shouldn't jump to the conclusion that they've been annihilated. The Mars Branch is under Lord Fareed's command. It could be false information."

While this could be the case and it could just be McGillis obscuring the matter, Julieta did not care as much about that as she did the fact that like she expected Iok managed to bungle the operation and had ruined the quiet he had left in his wake upon departing for this mission, "We finally have some peace with him gone, but he has to stir up more trouble."

Rustal was less vocally critical of Iok, and so he did not comment upon Julieta's displeasure, "Anyway, we have to follow up on this Mobile Armor and Iok's team. I want reliable information. Can you do that for me?"

Julieta took no time in raising a hand to her chest to salute him, "Yes, sir."

"I'm counting on you."

With that the call ended, leaving Julieta and Vidar in silence just a brief moment until the captain of the ship spoke up to inform them of a development concerning the ships' heading.

"We are now entering Mars' gravitational field."

Vidar moved away from the screen Rustal had been on to go respond to the other man, "Captain. We'll launch before they detect us. Keep this ship in orbit and stand by."

This left Julieta behind as she stood in continued silence, though she came to have a smirk as she held her hand over her chest.

 _This is my chance. If I defeat this Mobile Armor I can win him an Order of the Seven Stars._

The captain continued to have his conversation with Vidar as Julieta stood alone, "What about resupplying?"

"We won't take long."

* * *

"You seem eager."

To meet up with her partner, Julieta slowed herself from her rapid pace down a hallway towards the hangar, Vidar having left right behind her after finishing arranging things with the captain for their departure. Only the two of them were launching at the moment, but that ought to be more than enough to recover Iok and his remaining guards should any of them still be alive, or to find and report their failure. It would not be arrogance on their part to believe that the two of them were more capable than the entire squad sent with Iok in charge, for Julieta had accomplished more than all of them in previous engagements, and Vidar had proven himself to be even more capable than her, so together they were leagues ahead of the team sent to apprehend Iok.

Why they hadn't been sent in the first place to just make sure Iok didn't ruin everything was a point of interest to Julieta, who felt almost let down that Rustal had not sent her too even though she was one of those he had originally tasked with protecting Iok. It almost felt like someone somewhere had decided they _ought_ to lose and have this situation devolve in a terrible manner.

All the same, this deployment almost made up for the previous lack of assignment to the mission since it gave Julieta a chance to accomplish what she wanted more than anything else: to make herself indispensable to her superior, to whom she owed so much.

"The Order of the Seven Stars...if I defeat this foe, could it benefit Rustal?"

"Of course...from a certain perspective."

While normally she did not mind too much about his cryptic nature, this time Julieta had less tolerance for it since this was an important mission to not only her but to Rustal. This came out in her tone being slightly more snippy than usual as they continued to head towards the hangar at a swift pace, "I sense a caveat."

True to form, Vidar did not answer her question quite how she had hoped he would, "Your loyalty to Lord Elion is such that you would forsake your own benefit on his behalf?"

His perspective on the matter perplexed Julieta, who had not considered the issue outside of how it could benefit her by benefiting Rustal, "My own benefit?"

Vidar nodded once, his voice coming to have an assertive bent as he spoke more at once than Julieta thought she had ever heard him do before uninterrupted, "Yes. If you defeat the Mobile Armor, you could hypothetically join the ranks of the Seven Stars. With how things are looking, two houses are to disappear soon with McGillis taking the power from both the Issue and Baduin families in addition to the power usurped from his father. That leaves room for others to rise in their place, in this hypothetical scenario, others which could support other members of their choosing."

Was he telling her that she should...take this for herself? To become one of the leaders of Gjallarhorn and hold the power to oppose McGillis on more than just the battlefield? The idea was so out of Julieta's frame of mind that she did not know what to do with it, for her selfish desires concerning it had only gone as far as her duty to Rustal Elion. The thought that she too could possess such power...it was actually worrisome to Julieta. She wasn't much of a leader, she was a follower, and to subvert Rustal in any way such as by grabbing power for herself, even if it would be used on his behalf, would feel like betrayal.

Not quite done with the idea, Vidar spoke again with a parting thought on the issue, "Perhaps Rustal could use the feather in his cap, but this is not a matter to be taken lightly."

"I..."

Maybe he was right...maybe, as Vidar seemed to think, this could serve as a way to support Rustal. The masked man _was_ seemingly quite familiar with the whole Seven Stars system, and so his advice on the matter was not to be taken lightly.

This still being said, Julieta wasn't sure about it. If she defeated the beast on behalf of Rustal, would it even transfer over to him, or would it just be counted as her own achievement? She would have to see how things played out though...it would all be moot if McGillis or one of those soldiers from Tekkadan took the credit, which she definitely did not intend to allow.

"Loyalty is an admirable trait for one to possess, but from what I have learned of your mentor Galan Mossa, he would say it is not the wicked or the traitors who die first, but those who are noble and mean well."

Vidar's words struck another chord in Julieta, her mouth letting out a small breath of surprise as she came to realize that perhaps this man did not just idly sit around all the time. He certainly seemed to be well connected with all he had said up until now...so who could he be that he could hunt down information like that? Perhaps he had just asked Rustal, but Julieta couldn't be sure he had since Vidar was often times vague or would deflect her questioning in some way.

Still, what he said was true...even though Galan Mossa had dedicated his own life to Rustal's cause, what would he think of this situation? What would he think of her having the chance to gain such power, or to instead give it away? He had been a practical man, so Julieta could see him arguing both sides of it for different reasons: giving the power to Rustal would both earn her favor with him and likely increase her prestige within his faction, with the drawback of not giving her the reach and depth of the power taking it for herself would give her. On the flip side, taking it for herself would increase her options and ability to serve Rustal, but would come at the cost of casting herself as a political entity just like him who would have to face down figures who would seek her power for their own, or would seek to vanquish it.

Grow powerful and gain enemies while carrying out a task she was not suited for, or pass up this opportunity and instead just give Rustal an increase in his own ranking? Both had their alluring qualities, but to consider the former would mean forsaking her blind loyalty to Rustal in some degree.

"Are you saying that I shouldn't dedicate my life to Master Elion?"

Vidar shook his head no, though his words would somewhat contradict this by adding nuance to the situation, "You can devote it to whatever cause or purpose you choose, but do not forget yourself or your own well being in doing so."

Julieta wanted to be angry at him for daring to bring into question or have her doubting her own loyalty to Rustal, but something about the way he said this made her think that this was said out of concern rather than some form of condemnation. But that would mean that Vidar _cared_ about her well being, didn't it?

The idea that the cold man was beginning to warm up to her, be it his gift earlier as a result of their talk about hobbies or be it now his suggestion that she not play the part of zealot to Rustal, since the implication was that such a role could lead to her own detriment and danger.

"Do you trust me?"

Vidar looked down beside him to where Julieta was in turn looking up at him. Her question was curious to him, and there were many ways to answer it, since the concept of trust had many meanings to different people. Did she mean that he trusted her to perform well in combat? Then yes, he trusted her to pull her weight. But in regards to other forms of trust...

"How so?"

Julieta revealed the previous question to be a set-up for a more important one, "Do you believe that if I know who you are that I will tell anyone? That I may tell Master Elion?"

Vidar looked back towards where they were headed, "You presume he does not already know."

The implication that her leader already knew the identity of Vidar did not wholly catch Julieta off-guard, since she would be surprised if Rustal would just allow such a mysterious fellow to join them without reason or cause, but it still left her wondering if there was truth behind the idea, "Does he?"

"Perhaps."

Julieta narrowed her eyes at the unresponsive man, now a little annoyed that he wouldn't even tell her that. After a short while of him either not noticing or not caring that she was staring at him, Julieta softened her expression and came up with a new question.

"May I know then if I promise not to tell anyone? You seem to think I am loyal, and so I will not betray your trust."

"What will you gain by knowing who I am?" he asked of her not for the first time in their weeks together. It was a valid question though, one she had answered before with "trusting you" and similar statements, but which this time she had a new answer for, one which came naturally to her but still surprised her even as she said it.

"A friend."

Julieta could almost feel his muscles seize at her words, for their previously quick pace had gone from swift to nothing as he stood still in the hallway.

"I do not have friends...not anymore, at least."

Pain...pain and sorrow were the traces of emotion Julieta could feel in his voice. For him to have forsaken friendship itself...to have dedicated his life for vengeance...just what had been done to him to drive him to this point? What tragedy or series of tragedies had he suffered to become so hollow?

Not one to hide what she felt, Julieta openly showed her concern as they slowly began to pick up their pace again, "What did he do to you?"

Vidar did not bother to shake his head this time as he instead looked up towards the ceiling as they moved on through the ship, "I cannot answer that, but I can tell you of why he must be stopped. What do you know of Carta Issue?"

The question he asked was a simple one to Julieta, given her experiences serving one of the Seven Stars, "She was the heir of the Issue family who passed away last year in a battle against the organization Tekkadan, which now is believed to be working with McGillis. Her death left her family with no further heirs, leading their power to be passed to the Fareed family in the aftermath."

"Carta should not have confronted Tekkadan when and where she had engaged them in battle. Two previous engagements showed that she could not defeat them, and her authority only went so far."

Julieta nodded, not knowing why he was bringing up Carta when McGillis was the subject, but she was willing to hear him out on this since it apparently meant something to him.

"Do you know what convinced her to still fight when she had no chance? To try and regain her honor through an attempt to duel enemies to whom honor means nothing but a free opportunity to slaughter one's foes who possess it?"

That was not something Julieta was aware of actually, actually being quite perplexed by the Issue family's last heir and her actions at the time. Fortunately for her, Vidar was quick to filling her in so she did not have to voice her lack of knowledge on the subject.

"McGillis spoke to her with the intent of sending her off to her death. He told her to fight them, and she listened to him, because for years she had loved him. For years she had considered him close and dear to her heart, having been taken care of Iznario Fareed her legal guardian."

Julieta's eyes widened as she heard Vidar reveal information that likely only a select few people in the entire world knew...but given his seeming relationship to McGillis, perhaps it was not so strange at all. If he had worked with McGillis, the man may have very well told him this himself or Vidar could have otherwise learned of it by just being around him.

Further demonstrating just how much he had come to know about McGillis, Vidar continued to explain the failed Gjallarhorn mission to Julieta, "Carta Issue had men who superficially resembled McGillis form her forces, to give you an idea of how deep this attachment went. She would have done anything he asked of her, and so she let herself be fooled into causing her own death."

His left hand, still at his side, balled into a fist as Julieta watched it from that side of him. What he was saying...it sounded like it had something to do with what he spoke of before. So McGillis had used Carta's attachment to him to trick her into having herself killed off...the thought of someone manipulating someone else's trust and emotions like that left a bitter taste in Julieta's mouth, who was feeling her own urge to stop McGillis rising as Vidar spoke.

"McGillis sent a woman who loved him to die for his own benefit, who died thinking of and trying to talk to him. Now he has the power of the Issue family behind him, and no-one questions the circumstances of this unnecessary tragedy."

Unclenching his fist, Vidar stopped speaking to instead take a small breath. Once a moment had passed, he spoke again with a purposefully fake amusement replacing his previous hints of anger.

"Of course, the only witness to Carta's death is now dead, Gaelio Bauduin, so we cannot inquire further than what some have gleamed from the situation," his voice resumed its normal quiet, not revealing his emotions as he hid them just as he did his face, "But ask yourself, if McGillis would have someone who loved him killed for his ambition, what won't he do? What line would someone who does not feel loyalty, friendship, or love not cross?"

While Julieta couldn't tell just how he came across this information, the way he said it the situation made sense and felt true...and it damned McGillis completely, even if they could not truly pin such accusations to him with the lack of living sources for the information. So where then did Vidar come to have it? Was he one of Carta's soldiers who had been thought dead, and thus was seeking to take revenge for his deceased leader? It would explain his insight, as well as his build since it wasn't too far off from McGillis' own and that would make him a candidate for Carta's McGillis lookalike brigade...but would also likely require that he had blonde hair, of which Julieta could not confirm yet.

No matter who he was though, Julieta did at least feel like she understood him now a lot more than before...though her understanding came from now knowing better who it was he was seeking revenge against. By understanding who he despised and wished to see ruined, she could see in ways what kind of person Vidar was: a man for whom loyalty and friendship once meant a great deal, but who had neither now thanks to McGillis, who stood opposite of such traits by betraying a childhood friend in a way that had her killed.

To this same sentiment, Vidar identified himself not by who he was, but by who he opposed, "Who I am is the person who seeks not just to ruin the one known as McGillis Fareed, but to save the world from the danger he poses. Whatever else I may be behind this mask is an unnecessary distraction from that purpose."

"Vidar?"

The two had arrived at the hangar, where they would depart for Mars on their own in their Reginlaze and Vidar Gundam, but they both stopped at Julieta's mention of his name. With him waiting for her to follow it up with some actual statement or question, Vidar just looked down over to her.

Julieta silenced the anger she felt now at McGillis to instead put on a smiling face for Vidar, "I understand now. To take revenge against a man like McGillis...it is not an ugly thing. If he would have a friend killed for his own benefit, a member of the Seven Stars, then he would most certainly try to remove others who oppose him like Master Elion and even Iok."

Repeating her salute to Rustal from before, Julieta held her fist tightly over her chest.

"I cannot allow that to happen, and so if you would let me, I want to aid you when the time comes to bring him justice, be it now or at some other point."

He said nothing in response, but he did push off the docking bay to start heading towards his mobile suit: the sooner they reached Mars, the sooner they could apprehend McGillis after all.

Following after him, Julieta continued to speak, "You are a good man. I can tell, for if you weren't the actions of a man like McGillis would not matter to you like they obviously do...so may I ask something else of you?"

This got Vidar's attention again, with him turning around mid-flight to face her. With his focus on her again, Julieta spoke her second request.

"If you act like McGillis, you will be no better than him, so remember who you are and keep from being what you despise."

Vidar reached his Gundam while thinking over her words, his only verbal response being a quiet, "Who I am..."

While they were going to go to Mars to clean up Iok's mess, there stood a good chance that today would be the day that the masked man Julieta had grown to be fascinated by would have his justice, and would once and for all reveal his face.

Then, Julieta had no idea, but perhaps then they could actually eat together since he wouldn't have a mask in the way.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Special thanks to LockmanCapulet, ColdDecemberNight, and Riibas for your reviews last chapter, for they are most appreciated and helpful for me.**_

 _ **For any who may wonder, I am intentionally lagging a bit behind where the show is so that I can account for what twists and turns the show may go through.**_

 _ **Any thoughts you may have would be most welcome in the reviews below, and thank you for reading.**_


	4. Wrath

"A Gundam frame?"

Blue and black, the Gundam standing above McGillis Fareed and his ally Isurugi Camice was unlike any either had seen before, even though McGillis had indeed encountered it in the past. Such was the retooling done on the Gundam Kimaris that to see it now did not even evoke the thought that it was the same Gundam but rather a new one entirely.

"It doesn't correspond to anything on Gjallarhorn's matching list."

McGillis became quite wary of this suit that was staring down at them from their relatively small distance away, not yet knowing of its intent or why it would happen to be standing there on Mars despite possessing what was close to a Gjallarhorn signature.

"But its unique frequency signature is very close to Gjallarhorn's reactors."

It was not one of his own forces, which meant that it had to come from another group within Gjallarhorn...of which, McGillis could only think of one which would be intervening here.

"One of Rustal's soldiers?"

Moving to a defensive position in front of McGillis and his Graze Ritter, Isurugi prepared the massive blade of his Helmwige Reincar for combat. The sword, larger in height than the suit itself and possessing a wide frame, required for optimal use for the Helmwige to have special feet to balance out the weight of its own weapon, feet which spread apart to spread out the weight. While the sword was usable without this, it would be at a reduced effectiveness and a prolonged usage of the weapon might cause damage to the joints of the bulky Helmwige despite its power.

"Please stand back, General."

The air was tense down on mars as the black and blue Vidar stared silently down at the other two suits, its pilot at a loss of what to actually do as he came face to face with McGillis Fareed himself.

Isurugi Camice, thinking that they were being ignored, rose his voice as he shouted at this unknown suit looming over them, "Mobile Suit! State your rank and affiliation."

Vidar didn't speak over the communication channel back to the loyal servant of McGillis, but rather quietly inside his cockpit as if thinking to himself, "To think we'd meet again on Mars. This land where all of your betrayals began. Yet..."

His musing was cut short by an ally of his, Julieta Juris, who was on the other side of the ledge he stood atop of. He had suggested that they split up to search for Iok, but Julieta had countered that if Iok had run into some trouble that it may be dangerous to go alone. She benched her concern in being about the mission and how she did not want to lose track of yet another ally, but that the aloof woman cared at all revealed a more personal side to it.

"Vidar, what are you doing? We are supposed to be looking for Master Iok. Hurry up!"

Perhaps, Vidar wondered, was this her way of making sure someone else she knew did not die while she was away? While she acted tough, Vidar had a feeling that Galan Mossa's death still was having its way with her psyche.

However, the mission to find Iok was so distant to Vidar as he stared over towards McGillis in his Graze Ritter, just like what Carta piloted when she held the same position McGillis now did, "What lays before me may give us the answers we are looking for."

To leave now...to leave when the object of his hatred, the center of his revenge was right there...it was difficult to resist the urge to just fire upon him immediately now that the initial shock had worn off. So he offered an excuse to linger here, one which held truth in it as well: there was a good chance McGillis knew something about what happened with Iok after he disappeared on Mars.

Julieta tried to understand what Vidar meant, since he was quite quiet all of a sudden as compared to their small banter that they had been engaged in prior to just now, "Oh?"

Isurugi took Vidar's lack of response to him as a signal of malicious intentions.

"If you will not answer, we will take action!" he was about to say something else when he saw the dark green Reginlaze of Julieta join the unknown Gundam atop the ledge, "Another?"

"I don't understand."

The voice meant little to Isurugi, but McGillis was frozen as he heard Vidar finally communicate with them.

"Piloting the same model in which Carta Issue died crying out for your love...How can you do that?"

Now able to see the two Gjallarhorn mobile suits staring up at Vidar, Julietta began to see why they might be of interest and possible use as she recognized one of them.

"That mobile suit..."

"Answer, you two! Or we'll-"

Julieta cut him off as she looked over towards her partner, beginning to comprehend perhaps why he paused here and why he had stopped looking for Iok. It did not explain however why there was some fool communicating with them in a threatening manner, "Vidar, what is going on? Who is that idiot chattering on the radio?

Vidar's response was solely to her, cutting out Isurugi and McGillis so as to keep it private, "Isurugi Camice, an aide to McGillis Fareed, who as you can see is also present. The larger mobile suit is familiar to me as well. It is the one used to help Tekkadan against Gjallarhorn at Edmonton. Paint and armor do not change a suit's Ahab wave signature."

Now communicating solely to Vidar, Julieta scowled as she realized just what type of situation they had walked into: their enemy within Gjallarhorn stood before them, and if Vidar was true in his intentions to visit vengeance upon McGillis then this was not going to go well.

Still, what Vidar said of Isurugi's suit being that Grimgerde, the suit which aided Tekkadan a year ago, was a piece of damning evidence against him and seemingly a hint that he indeed was the horrible manipulator working against Gjallarhorn's interests Vidar had painted him to be, "So he is conspiring against Gjallarhorn..."

This all however was not what they were there for. When Master Rustal wanted them to fight McGillis, they would, but Julieta was not sure this was the time or place for this battle when there was other things they were supposed to be doing.

"Vidar, our mission is to locate Iok and to find out the situation with the Mobile Armor. I do not see how confronting McGillis now will aid with that."

"Do you think that perhaps McGillis, who Iok was confronting, might have had something to do with why we do not know where he is?"

Julieta saw his logic...it was wholly possible that McGillis, who was in a mobile suit, had dealt with Iok and slain him and his men. There was no way Iok would have just let him walk away in his Graze Ritter, not without a fight at least since Iok was supposedly confronting McGillis at a time McGillis would not be armed with a mobile weapon of some sort. He had headed straight for him after all with what information they had, and so the fact that McGillis stood here was a hint that some kind of battle had occurred.

With this in mind, Julieta steeled herself for possible conflict. If McGillis would not just tell them where Iok was, she would force him to so as to complete her mission. That way they would not have to wander about and try to locate whatever was left of Iok if there even was anything, since here was a possible map right to their objective, "They'll know."

As if he was thinking and gathering his thoughts, Vidar said nothing back and left Julieta to speak to the stunned McGillis and his aide, "McGillis Fareed, I, Julieta Juris of the Arianrhod Fleet request your knowledge of our colleague Iok Kujan. What are his whereabouts?"

Recovering from what Vidar said, McGillis shifted from looking and sounding like he had seen a ghost to his normal calm and formal tone as he spoke, "I-I apologize, but I do not presently know. He and his men awoke the Mobile Armor and it is currently rampaging across Mars. We were headed to combat it, with the aid of Tekkadan."

Julieta paused to think if she should even believe what he said, since they had come all the way here due to disbelieving him...it was possible that he was telling the truth, which was why she asked, but he had not bothered to explain yet what happened after Iok supposedly awoke the Mobile Armor.

As she thought about the issue, McGillis spoke up again with a question of his own, still shaken by the Gundam pilot's voice and how he thought he knew it.

"I did not know that The Arianrhod Fleet possessed a Gundam of this type however. May I ask who is piloting it? It may be of use in confronting the Mobile Armor."

Unsure actually of the answer herself, and not knowing what her partner wanted her to say on the issue, she spoke privately to the man who had taken the name of his Gundam for himself, "Vidar..."

Having received no answer, McGillis took another step forward in his questioning by addressing the quite quiet pilot of the unknown suit before him, "Gundam pilot, tell me, how did you come across that information you spoke of?" McGillis narrowed his eyes as he clenched his controls, "How could you know what my friend said in her dying breaths?"

Julieta had to admit she had been curious about that as well, but she had figured since their last conversation on the topic that he was a survivor of Carta Issue's group. Her guards from her last battle had been labeled as having been killed in action, but she doubted in some ways that that was true. After all, it wasn't like it could be Gaelio, the man who rescued her. He was cremated, and so who else could it be but one of Carta's guards?

Vidar, no longer casting any illusions or doubt on who he was, instantly undermined this conviction of hers as he moved forward in his suit to softly land with the aid of his thrusters on the ground below, to be on equal terrain with McGillis and his comrade only a couple hundred feet away.

"I had to comfort her by pretending to be you as she drifted away...as she died thanks to the betrayal of her 'friend', a man who she loved with all of her heart and would do anything to please."

McGillis paused as he tried to feel out how this was going to go now that he knew for certain who this was. That they had survived shocked him, but he had never bothered to truly check for himself...

Reaching down to its waist where its sword was stored, Vidar began to slowly draw the blade he felt was hungering for the blood of this man before him, "You continue to help those who killed her. You show them the friendship denied to those who showed it to you."

"Gaelio Bauduin..."

McGillis slowly came to smile as he confirmed his suspicion. So the son of the Bauduin family lived...his only friend was still alive, despite having his Gundam run through by the Grimgerde. Thinking back, McGillis pondered if perhaps his last strike had been too much to the left to actually even strike Gaelio...back then he had been so caught up with the moment and the thrill he received from revealing to Gaelio his master plan to have Carta killed, to kill Gaelio, and to marry Almiria that perhaps he had not been as thorough as he ought to have.

"So, you survived."

Vidar, or rather Gaelio Bauduin of the Seven Stars, stepped forward in his suit and began a slow approach towards both McGillis and Isurugi with his fencing sword drawn, "Yes. Unfortunately, they will not be able to say the same of you."

Still atop the ledge, Julieta was in shock as she listened to the confirmation of who her partner was...how was he alive? He had passed away and been cremated...

Her eyes widened as she realized that this was why Rustal supposedly knew who Gaelio was. A man who could hide the entire existence of someone like Galan Mossa could no doubt also falsify someone's death, so to hide Gaelio's survival of Edmonton would be likely very easy for the powerful Elion family. Having recovered the Kimaris Trooper as well and falsify records of returning it to the Bauduin family would also be simple, if the Bauduin family was not in on the whole matter to begin with.

Gaelio Bauduin had been ambushed by a suit belonging to McGillis...Julieta was not so foolish as to not realize what that meant. McGillis had betrayed him and sided with Tekkadan, and in that moment of betrayal he had likely revealed his part in Carta's death. A death Gaelio got to witness himself when he tried to save her from Tekkadan, the death of a close friend he had known for years.

"Ga...Gaelio?" Julieta whispered to herself as Vidar went off to fight, shocked by the knowledge she now possessed which made all the pieces fall into place as to who she had been working with all this time.

McGillis could tell by Gaelio's words that this was indeed going to become a battle, and he was still figuring out how he was going to handle it: there was no guaruntee that Gaelio's ally would actually fight with him, and two on one McGillis was fairly certain they could take down even a Gundam frame, though it would be dangerous.

"So you intend to kill me. Whatever for? What proof do you have of wrongdoing on my part? You would murder a fellow member of the Seven Stars over an unproven grudge?"

Vidar's voice did not raise even as he spoke to the man he hated more than any other, his tone measured at its low inflection as he continued his slow approach to which Isurugi was preparing for, "I would lay your dreams and aspirations to ruin for the sake of revenge, for those lost to your ambition. What others may think is up to them, and has no bearing on us now."

Not wanting to risk things unnecessarily, particularly since a past careless action now was coming to haunt him, McGillis spoke to Isurugi over the same channel, "Isurugi, we must get in contact with our forces and inform them that a rogue Gjallarhorn unit is attacking us and must be eliminated at any cost."

However...

"That is, Gaelio, unless you understand why I may have done what you claim I have."

If Gaelio was willing somehow to let past "differences" remain in the past, perhaps he could be quite the useful ally...McGillis knew of course that it was a longshot and almost entirely unlikely, but if he could both possibly gain an ally while perhaps stalling for time he would. Time favored him and not Gaelio, so he would chew up as much of it as he could.

Now standing only a hundred or so feet away from Isurugi, Vidar shook his head side to side slowly, "I understand that you are of the delusion that murdering your way to the top of Gjallarhorn will somehow enact the change you wish in the corrupt system. The corrupt system Gaelio Bauduin would have helped you fix once upon a time, had you not decided that murdering an ally who would have lent you his strength and power was a superior solution to working together."

Still searching for time, since he was sure they would be pounced the moment they communicated for help rather than focus on their adversary, McGillis continued to talk.

"You know how corrupt our system is, so why stand in my way to fixing it? You know that Rustal Elion manipulated an entire war for his own purposes using that man who worked with Tekkadan under the name of Galan Mossa. So long as tools exist to twist conflict for personal gain, how will the current order ever improve?" McGillis continued to try and see if he could now appeal to Gaelio's once noble intentions, "You've watched the slaughter of innocent protestors by their supposed protectors, Gjallarhorn. Change is needed, and it is not too late for you to help bring it."

"I have lost the will to change. A singular purpose drives my being, and that is to bring you what justice is owed to you for your sins."

McGillis scowled as he realized that indeed this was not going to work and that he would have to fight, only this time he was not as sure of the outcome given that the Graze Ritter's performance was lower than the Grimgerde's, a suit he had piloted knowing it could counter the Gundam Kimaris.

"So you are just another tool for Rustal's ambitions."

Listening to them, Julieta felt herself begin to grow conflicted as the idea of fighting a member of the Seven Stars felt like she would be betraying Gjallarhorn...but McGillis had already betrayed the, had betrayed Gaelio, and so did that make it right? She felt the urge to join Gaelio, but hesitation at how no matter if she joined the battle or not she would essentially be taking a side between two of the Seven Stars: if she fought with Gaelio, it would be for him of course, but if she stood aside then it would mean she wasn't helping him and McGillis might actually stand a chance...

"Vidar..."

Not having forgotten her, Vidar spoke back with a tinge of hesitation to his normal quietness, "Julieta, may I ask of you to aid me in my personal matter this one time? Or, failing that, that you stay out of our way?"

"What of our mission? We have to find Master Iok, and that Mobile Armor sounds dangerous!" Julieta complained, hoping to steer Gaelio away from indulging his wrath.

"Tekkadan is fighting it presently and can handle themselves. The Mobile Armor will be dealt with, but this..."

This was a chance to kill McGillis and stop the world from suffering whatever tragedies he would otherwise cause for the sake of his goals. This was an opportunity to stop a larger threat than a single Mobile Armor, destroying the cancer at its source rather than treat a cold.

The time for deterring the imminent conflict ceased as Isurugi used his suit's thrusters to propel forward and move to meet the Vidar on the wide open field of dirt that was quite representative of the planet's landscape much as how water covered most of the Earth.

"If you would attack Lord Fareed, you are an enemy to Gjallarhorn! I will not allow any harm to the General so long as I live!"

Watching Isurugi approach in his bulky suit at its slow speed almost brought a smirk to Gaelio's face beneath his mask, "You would serve McGillis despite knowing of his crimes. For that, you will be granted no mercy."

Julieta saw the light of the Vidar's reactors light up and she knew it was too late, but she still tried to call after him as he rushed forward to meet Isurugi in combat, "Vidar, wait!"

The Helmwige swung its sword as it charged to try and slice the Vidar in two with one hit, only to be completely avoided as the Vidar spun around it with tremendous speed and with the agility of a feral animal. Seeing this made Julieta sigh as she realized what she had to do now.

"Open warfare between Gjallarhorn..."

Now behind the Helmwige, Vidar kicked it on the back of its knee to disorientate it, blades inside of the Vidar's feet causing the strike to actually penetrate and damage the joint it struck. As it did this the Helmwige tried to stabilize itself from its attack, its pilot not having used such a heavy weapon before and completely shocked with the might behind his attack...but also by the complete uselessness of the weapon against a foe who could dance around it without any effort.

"Certain suits possess qualities that benefit them in one situation, but not another," Vidar spoke to his foe while swinging his own, far lighter, blade.

He stabbed through a piece of the Helmwige's thick armor by using the right momentum behind his strike gained by his spiralling dodge of the Helmwige's next attempt at attacking. Removing the blade from where he pierced the Helmwige, Gaelio dropped down low to avoid a swing aimed at his suit's midsection. With his position near the ground, he stabbed up to impale part of the abdomen, utilizing the fact that most mobile suits had poor defense in their lower torso above the waist to damage the heavier suit yet again.

This strike nearly went through the enemy suit's cockpit, and so Vidar broke off his blade while hurling his suit away with its many thrusters. Upon having the blade separate from its handle it exploded and took with it a chunk of the Helmwige's side, though it did not seem to have dealt too much damage to its center and cockpit given the way the explosion tore through the suit.

Taking another blade from one of his suit's sheaths at its side, Gaelio maneuvered behind the Helmwige to strike it again, "The Kimaris Trooper could do battle against the Barbatos with that inhuman filth piloting it, but against a more agile foe it could not succeed. That armor you have put over the suit that defeated Gaelio Bauduin will be its undoing."

Before he drove a blade through the other suit's beck, Vidar noticed that the other person he had been meaning to fight was actually fleeing. Looking at McGillis finally decide that this was not a battle worth fighting, Vidar pulled out a pistol from his suit and shot him from behind, "No-one said you were allowed to leave."

The shot disorientated the Graze Ritter, McGillis having put his entire focus on escaping at full speed forward with no consideration for dodging since he had not yet seen that the Vidar had ranged capabilities, particularly that it possessed pistols with enough punch to render him offbalance.

While Vidar left to go chase down the foe fleeing from him, Isurugi recovered enough to try and turn to chase after him in turn. This attempt was interrupted however as a powerful blow to the back of the Helmwige drew his attention. Isurugi swung his blade around to counterattack whoever just struck him, but his attack once again failed to find its mark as Julieta's Reginlaze revolved around the suit opposite of his blade to completely avoid the blade.

"Isurugi," Julieta announced as she again struck the Helmwige from behind, targeting where Vidar had already opened up a hole in its thick armor, "Your opponent will be me."

Wising up to his vulnerability from behind, Isurugi instead of taking the long time to turn around with his slow suit decided to propel himself backwards with his suit's thrusters to catch Julieta by surprise as she pummeled his backside with her own suit's pile bunkers.

Julieta responded to this change fast, but not fast enough to completely avoid the Helmwige's backwards charge. She had launched herself up into the air, only for the feet of her Reginlaze to be caught by the back of the Helmwige and for it to send her spiralling in mid-air so that she fell forward to where the Helmwige had been.

With her now prone in front of him, Isurugi tried using his weapon for a killing strike, "You are siding with this man who would dare attack one of the Seven Stars?"

Julieta growled as she launched forth from each of her Twin Piles attachment anchors. One wrapped around the Helmwige's weapon, while the other wrapped around its ankle: with a quick tug, she used the powerful Reginlaze to pull the Helmwige's leg out from under it while also messing up the aim of its sword.

With the same movement Julieta pulled her suit to its feet and punched swung around to punch the stumbling Helmwige across the face, breaking one of the blue and yellow suit's little 'ears' that hung off its head, "I am siding with the man rooting out a traitor in our ranks, and by your willing aid to McGillis I can only assume you share his convictions!"

Isurugi swung a fist out to punch Julieta, grazing the side of her mobile suit as he tried to fight back against his fast foe whose suit was meant for mobile suit combat.

Now yelling, Julieta released one anchor so she could swing around and punch her foe again with her personalized weapons, "Whether Vidar is or isn't Gaelio Bauduin , McGillis will be apprehended and stand trial for his crimes!"

* * *

"McGillis, you came all this way to rescue me, didn't you?"

McGillis scowled inside of his suit as he brought it to a halt, the Gundam having outsped him and stopped in front of him with its blade outstretched. The soft way Gaelio was speaking put him off, and the oddness of his statement put him off too.

Now knowing he had no way of outrunning his opponent, McGillis decided to make the most of his situation and see if he could once again defeat Gaelio in combat. The Kimaris had been damaged heavily, and this suit appeared lighter perhaps causing its insane speed, but that might also mean it was an inferior Gundam now if it had not been properly fixed. That gave McGillis a glimmer of hope, so he surged forward with the Graze Ritter's twin swords to try and slay Gaelio for real this time.

"I failed. I failed again, didn't I?"

McGillis' attack followed the lead of his foe's words and failed as Gaelio managed to dive under where the sword aimed to bisect the Vidar, leaving it in an ideal position to then smash the abdomen of the Ritter with a fist. That moment could have been a death blow had the Vidar's own weapon been used, but instead its pilot opted for sheer kinetic force to knock McGillis off-balance.

"Thank you, McGillis," Gaelio continued to speak in his off-putting tone.

With his suit's greater mobility Vidar easily parried McGillis' next attack and twisted his own sword to divert one of the Ritter's clunkier swords into the ground. As McGillis swung his other sword to strike the Vidar, he instead was met with a kick to the cockpit that once again sent him reeling back from the power the Gundam was capable of mustering.

"I figured you would want to hear her final words. They were meant for you, after all."

While falling back mainly by force, McGillis did put some effort to recover from this strike. McGillis tried to study the movements of the vastly modified Kimaris before him. He was quite capable of observing the small details in battle and making the most of them, but this was not an arena where careful study could win him the day. Rather, a sword shaped like an aristocratic fencing blade lodged itself in the left should of his Graze Ritter as he tried to analyze his situation.

He struggled to tear his suit away from where it was impaled, but this seemed to suit his foe just fine. As the Ritter used its thrusters to jet away from the Vidar, the fencing blade dislodged from its handle and the blade embedded in the Graze exploded and took with it the shoulder and left arm of the mobile suit while leaving a small amount of residual damage on the Ritter's left abdomen. While he escaped from the close quarters combat for the moment, it cost McGillis half of his offensive capabilities and half of his ability to parry.

"Gaelio, every second spent here is another that the Mobile Armor has to take lives. We can still intervene-"

This distance achieved by McGillis in his hasty retreat was trivial to the Vidar Gundam, the increase to the Kimaris Trooper's already notable speed allowing it to close their distance swiftly and to launch its next attack. It had twisted its path of approach in order to grab the Graze Ritter's fallen sword from its dismembered arm to now use and bear down on its own suit. McGillis parried it as one of his own blades clashed against his remaining one that he had to desperately throw up to save himself.

"What do I care if Tekkadan suffers losses? Letting others deal with your enemies is something I thought you would agree with," came Vidar's almost bored response over the communication line. He was unaware that it was intending to inflict massive civilian casualties, but that was moot given that it was entangled by the child soldiers who had become the organization named Tekkadan.

The limb difference between the Ritter and Vidar would become apparent as Gaelio used his suit's other hand, fencing sword still held, to punch the Graze in the face and send it scratching against the dirt beneath them. McGillis had tried to move out of the way of the approaching fist but the performance of his suit was just too little in comparison to what he was combating, and his own piloting skills only save him from a small fraction of the damage he would have suffered by the strike otherwise.

McGillis' Graze unlodged itself from the ground it had been knocked down into, metal slashing through the red-orange dirt to lift itself up to confront the Vidar in another clash of blades, the Ritter's own weapons being the instruments of battle as Vidar seemed to silently mock him for the loss of one arm and the weapon it held.

Despite his disadvantage, the fact that the sword was a new weapon for Vidar to wield in his suit detracted marginally from his combat ability giving McGillis a small reprieve...but this reprieve was only enough to let him parry a small series of strikes before his own remaining blade was bashed aside by the Vidar's superior strength and he was slammed in the front of his suit's abdomen right by the cockpit with his stolen sword.

McGillis dug his suit's feet in behind him at first to brace from the attack, but was forced to give up this stabilized position as another attack came in to strike him head on. He backpedaled with the use of his suit's thrusters, escaping what may have been a death blow by mere inches as he began to retreat once more. If he lasted long enough, help may come, but he could not afford to just try and run with the difference in his speed to the Vidar's.

All he could do is hope to bring Vidar back bit by bit to where other members of Gjallarhorn were...but this hope would be forlorn in the moments to come as the Vidar launched forward at full speed, all thrusters firing to make its next strike carry with it enough power to break and dislodge various parts within the Graze Ritter.

What seemed to be oil leaking down onto him covering one eye and blood streaming down the other from the wound on his head caused by slamming into part of his suit, McGillis came to realize with wide eyes that he might actually die here.

* * *

"General!"

Seeing the dire straits of his commanding officer distracted Isurugi from his fight with Julieta, and he tried to once again chase after McGillis and Vidar across Mars' flat, orange terrain.

This change in attention caused his large suit's vulnerable back to once again be turned to his current opponent, who took no time to abuse this fact and run after him and drive her Twin Piles into his suit's gradually cracking back, the thick armor having been struck time and time again to the point that it was now cracking.

Not above utilizing what she saw someone else do, Julieta then kicked the back of the Hilmwige's knee like Vidar had to destabilize it. This done, she slammed both of her Piles down on the head of the opposing suit while it fell down to the ground.

"Surrender now Isurugi, or I will show you the same mercy Vidar is giving your master!"

Isurugi flailed on the ground to try and rise, but it proved difficult with how Julieta was punching and beating down on him as he tried to do so, damaging his suit all over bit by bit as its armor just barely held off her powerful melee attacks, "You won't get away with this, traitors! When we make contact with our forces-"

Kicking his sword away from him, Julieta got one last punch in to the Helmwige's damaged side to both weaken it further and also to shake the pilot within with the impact, "You mean 'if'."

Isurugi tried to grab for his sword when another punch to his suit's head changed his momentum and caused him to miss his pickup. As he struggled to move back and grab it he was assulted again, Julieta having used the wires attached to her weapons to tangle up his legs and trip the heavy Helmwige, "Vidar is right, that mobile suit of yours is usless here. You can't keep up with either of us."

McGillis' right hand used a desperate move to try and turn the tables, grabbing for his suit's sword and hurling it as a spinning projectile from where his suit lay tangled on the ground, "I only need to hit you once!"

Despite the visual appeal to the attack, it flew by Julieta's Reginlaze from where she sidestepped it with ease. The Helmwige's attacks were so telegraphed that so long as he attacked as the suit was meant to that it was really little threat to the Reginlaze: maybe the older Graze would have more trouble with it, but its superior in just about every regard except cost was not to fall victim to it.

"Unfortunately for you, you never will, not even with attacks that look impressive," Julieta smirked as she twisted the wires to trip up the Grimgerde's supposed upgrade again as Isurugi tried to get up, "I have been training to beat those brats in Tekkadan since the last time we fought, but what have you done? Sat comfortably in a cumbersome mobile suit?"

Incensed by the audacity of these two fighting them, Isurugi growled at his counterpart, "You serve a man embodying corruption, and now are aiding a man seeking to commit murder who dares to claim himself to be the deceased Gaelio Bauduin. Do you have no shame?"

Julieta released her wires as she caught sight of her opponent trying to grab for them, sparing the thin wires from being broken by the Helmwige's strong grip. As the Helmwige aimed to tackle her with a quick burst of its jets she moved to the side to use her suit's rifle to fire at the wounded part of it, exposing its innards more as her heavier caliber weapon than the Graze's ripped already wounded and torn metal apart, "Is it murder when the person a murderer tried killing comes back to haunt them?"

While he knew of his master's treachery towards Gjallarhorn, Isurugi was not completely in the loop and had been doubting the nonsense their enemies were spewing out of loyalty to McGillis. This made him genuinely conflicted as he was coming to realize that perhaps there may be some truth to their claims, "What are you suggesting?"

Julieta parried a punch from the Helmwige and retaliated with one of her own, punching a hole through the thick nanolaminate protecting Isurugi using the sharp end of her Piles, "The Grimgerde was used to defeat Gaelio Bauduin, and now its upgraded form was given to you by McGillis, the man who Vidar seeks vengeance upon. An interesting coincidence, isn't it?"

"Official records say Gaelio was cremated after being recovered by ground forces, and it seems his Kimaris was recovered as well..." Julieta dodged out of the way of another attack to punch yet another hole through the rapidly decaying shell built over the Grimgerde, her face smirking devilishly as she mocked the rival of her superior Rustal Elion, "McGillis must be a fool to have let both slip through the cracks so easily."

With some of his controls sparking and no-longer functioning thanks to the damage he had incurred, Isurugi continued to try and press on forward and throw punch after punch at Julieta, with her avoiding most but one managing to slip past one of her own counterattacks to knock her back and away from him.

Now given time to regain his bearings, Isurugi looked around to try and find the sword he had hurled desperately before only to find that it was nowhere nearby. Perhaps he had thrown it farther than he had initially thought?

"Where did it go?"

* * *

A roundhouse kick with the power of a Gundam behind it knocked the Graze Ritter back and off of its feet, driving it down into the dirt as the Vidar paced elsewhere like someone taking a casual stroll. As he worked to bring his Graze to its feet, fighting against some of its now non-functioning controls in the damaged cockpit, McGillis felt himself begin to grow angry with how Gaelio, knowing all that he did, would dare try to stop him. His betrayal beside, didn't Gaelio understand that this was for everyone's good? That this was the only way forward, at least in McGillis' mind?

"Gaelio, would you truly blind yourself to the corruption of this world? A world where a war between nations would be sparked just to discredit a single person? Where is the pride you once held?"

"Pride..." Gaelio stopped his suit by what he had been approaching, still taking his time to interact with the object at his feet just as he had lounged about to arrive at it, "That died when I lost everything I thought I knew."

McGillis' eyes opened wide for a moment as he saw Vidar pick up Isurugi's discarded weapon, having been hurled some distance and Vidar now having traveled back what little distance he needed to grab it. Gaelio had been working on forcing McGillis back towards where the fight had begun, intent on not allowing him to escape, and so the weapon lay bare for his use.

"Today, McGillis, your plans will fall to ruin, your allies will crumble without you, and you will be forever remembered as the traitor who twisted the world to dance at his fingers, sacrificing the lives of comrades and friends both for your endless ambition."

The Ritter's controls finally jumped back into full operation after some more finessing by McGillis, allowing him to finally begin rising back up so as to continue his retreat, now with the hope that Vidar would make the mistake of trying to chase him while wielding that heavy weapon.

While the Gundam did begin to give chase with the new bulk in-tow, there was a reason for this rather than the simple act of running after McGillis, "There will always be time for change. When the Fareed family loses its only heir, you, now that you have disgraced your father, your family's power shall be untethered. The power of the Issue family you have usurped will be released as well from the grip of the Fareeds."

With a hefty throw from the Vidar, Isurugi's discarded blade was hurled at the Graze Ritter, knocking it off its feet and damaging the suit's upper abdomen heavily where it collided. A small but fast movement from McGillis had allowed him to avoid most of the damage it would have inflicted, but the blood trickling down his face from the damage inflicted to his cockpit showed that his subordinate's weapon had still left its mark.

Now suddenly next to the Ritter, the Vidar grabbed it and lifted it to its feet before punching it in the mono-eye it possessed, then released with a toss back as if he was allowing McGillis to defend himself once again and giving him another chance, "The closest relation your family will have is to my sister, Almiria, and so your would-be wife may be made the holder of the Fareed and Issue families with the way the fallout will go, if it is not granted to the Bauduin family entirely for your subversion and attempt to steal our power through murder and marriage."

McGillis was not going to squander this seeming grace given to him and so he rushed forward with his sword drawn, only for his efforts to be for naught as his own skills were hampered by his damaged suit. With the fencing blade parrying McGillis, Vidar slipped the Ritter's sword across the surface of its original wielder to strip away bits of armor and damage its joints with each swing. Now losing bit by bit, McGillis resumed his attempt to try and pull back from the Vidar, but he was not given a moment of respite to actually pull it off as he was continually put on the defensive and had to focus entirely on not dying in that moment.

"Do not worry, McGillis. I will take good care of Almiria."

While batting away McGillis' blade with the use of both of his own, Vidar twisted his suit around like an acrobat or trained gymnast to slam a foot into the Ritter's frame. Thanks to the blades possessed in the feet of, the kick left its mark on the other suit as they shredded its armor and tore through like a hot knife through melted butter.

"Gaelio..." still trying to put up a fight, McGillis rose his blade up to attack again in a way that would also protect him from another attack, but his now damaged and lumbering suit that was beginning to fall apart at the edges was even less capable of matching the Vidar than it had been at the battle's onset, "I will not let someone so foolish change the plans I have made! The possibility of Humanity shall not be stifled by foolish aristrocrats and their unworthy children!"

Another fencing blade lodged itself in his suit, now targeting his right shoulder and like that an explosion tore through the Ritter and blew off its other arm. The explosive sword nearly knocked the Ritter off its feet, only for a clever use of the suit's thrusters again by McGillis to prevent it from being left prone and instead propelling backwards away from the battle.

"Foolish?" Vidar chuckled to himself quietly inside his suit as he approached his prey, "I suppose I am the fool for trusting a friend. For thinking the man who I thought would help me change Gjallarhorn would be with me to achieve that goal, rather than sacrifice me to achieve a foolish perversion of that desire."

A chill ran down McGillis' spine as the Vidar casually kept pace with him. Why was Gaelio not going for the killing blows he likely could have from the beginning? Was this all just for his own satisfaction, McGillis wondered, to play with his enemy before actually finishing him off?

"You would destroy everything to accomplish your aspirations without knowing what the result would be. You wish to forge a new order from what you burn to the ground, but would destroy everything that exists for that desire, leaving you with nothing to build that dream. You presume that an organization founded upon deceit, murder, and betrayal would be aptly fit to replace one as flawed as the one that exists."

If McGillis had spent the time to learn how Carta came to die and had spent the past year broiling with evidence of the battle and of the battle of Edmonton he would have known that this battle was not simply one of messing around, but of direct mimicry. A year of hatred stewing over the betrayals McGillis perpetrated back then was being brought to the forefront as Vidar was left with free reign to beat him down.

Sparks flew from the Graze Ritter as it was torn apart during its failure at escaping, holes littered across its body in specific placements so as to not kill the pilot but rather to cripple the suit. Entire sections of its armor and frame had been torn off by its own swords, the Vidar having sheathed its own blade to attack McGillis now with his own blades.

With the Graze knocked over again from the sheer barrage it was being put under, Vidar stomped on the cockpit hard enough to crush some of it but not enough to actually kill its pilot. This pinned the struggling Graze down though even as it attempted to jet away, the weight placed upon it holding it down in place.

Looking down at the vulnerable mobile suit below him, Vidar felt a certain weightlessness as the exact moment he had been waiting for came to be. He had his revenge...McGillis would pay for his crimes and his machinations would be ended once and for all...

"You were one of my only friends, McGillis. Someone I thought I would spend my life with as my closest confidant, a man who I could one day entrust my sister with and call my brother."

One sword from the Ritter lodged itself right where McGillis had once used the Grimgerde's blades to impale the top of the Kimaris, while the other stabbed down into its torso where McGillis had thought he had slain Gaelio back at Edmonton. Its swords nailing it to the ground it lay upon, the Graze Ritter was now immobilized and completely at the mercy of Gaelio.

Drawing his own blade once again, Gaelio prepared to plunge it down into the mangled cockpit beneath him, "Now, for the sake of Carta, for Ein, and for all of the others you have betrayed, I sentence you to the death you condemned them to."

"Vidar, incoming enemies!"

Julieta's voice caught his attention and so he looked up to see that three Grazes were rapidly approaching, all of them bearing the markings of McGillis' forces and all of them preparing to open fire on the Gundam in sight.

As they opened fire to try and drive him back away from McGillis, Gaelio smirked at their attempt to aid their leader and shook his head at the unfortunate circumstance they found themselves in that they were loyally protecting a man who did not deserve nor inspired loyalty, "You belong to McGillis' forces. You do not know of the treachery your superior has wrought on the ranks of Gjallarhorn most likely, so I will spare you from the punishment he is suffering."

Some of the ammunition struck the Vidar harmlessly while other bullets connected instead with the downed Graze, wounding the suit stripped of armor more than the intended target. Still, it did draw Gaelio's attention away from McGillis and he moved to meet the incoming suits: while he meant them no ill will, they were about to attack him and he doubted they would just listen to him while in the heat of battle, so he would deal with them in a way that would allow him to explain later just how misguided they once were to loyally follow a man such as McGillis.

"Stay away from Lord Fareed!" the leader of the three Grazes yelled as they drew their axe to engage in melee combat, Vidar readying his own sword for the coming clash at his still relaxed pace from the previous engagement.

Seeing what Vidar was about to do from her position fighting Isurugi, Julieta feared that he might not actually spare them since Vidar had not spoken aloud his intentions, "Vidar, don't!"

The Graze wielding the axe found itself impaled upon the Vidar's sword, its face completely run through by the fencing blade as its own momentum met that of the Vidar's sudden rush forward, having gone from slow walk to rapid approach to both dodge the swing intended for it while also disabling the enemy suit.

This first one dealt with, he kicked it down and stomped on a weak point in the Graze's leg to cripple it. As the other two came to attack him in unison, he jumped up in the air to do a backwards flip using the multitude of thrusters on the Vidar. Now above them, he grabbed them both by their heads and smashed them together. Disorientated, they were easily picked apart by a rapid series of precision strikes that left their suits unable to battle but did no harm to their pilots.

Three Grazes almost piled on top of one another, Gaelio shook his head again as he communicated with them, "Remember that your lives were spared today."

A chorus of yells and shouts from the three pilots were silenced by Vidar as he cut off their transmissions, now focusing again on McGillis. The Graze Ritter had, with the aid of its thrusters, pulled itself from being pinned to the ground though without arms it had not been able to remove its blades. Barely holding together at all, it lumbered forward one pained step at a time heading towards Gaelio slowly before suddenly gaining a burst of speed with the aid of its sparking thrusters.

"Gaelio!"

Seeing this as the last attempt of a desperate man, Gaelio sighed as he prepared his sword again.

"Goodbye, McGillis. You truly were a good friend, for a time."

Impaled straight through the cockpit, the Graze Ritter made no further movement except for when a moment later the blade detonated.

* * *

 _"McGillis, want to play?"_

 _"I'm busy, Gaelio. My apologies."_

 _"If you stay inside reading books all day your eyes are going to go bad."_

 _"Pleeaaaase?"_

 _"Gaelio, we'll always have time to play later."_

 _"You can always read later too! Come on, it'll be fun!"_

 _"Exercise is befitting of a child of the Seven Stars."_

 _"You two go on ahead. I'll be with you soon enough."_

 _"Okay, but I get to have the cookies you could have had then!"_

 _"How improper to not offer them to a lady."_

 _"I need my cookies and milk so I can get big and strong, Carta! One day you're going to be small while I'm all big."_

 _"As if! If anyone is going to be tall, it will be McGillis or I. Your father is average, but Lord Fareed is tall."_

 _"Tag!"_

 _"That's not fair Gaelio...Gaelio, wait for me!"_

 _"Catch ya later McGillis! We're going to be out having fun!"_

 _"Goodbye, Gaelio."_

* * *

Seeing the death of his commander sent Isurugi into shock, the man pausing in place as he saw the Graze Ritter explode violently, no hope that its pilot had survived. Not even the reinforcements that had come were able to even stop this beast, and now it had managed to finally finish off its quarry.

"General Fareed!"

In anger he used his Helmwige Reincar to blitz at Julieta just as she moved to parry a punch, tackling her in the process. Just about done with carving through his protecting armor and having pounded the vulnerable waist of the Helmwige plenty, Julieta was on the edge of victory with only a couple more well placed strikes needed to fell it, but this sudden assault left her on the defensive.

"You will pay for this!"

While the Helmwige was powerful, it was not armed presently and so even though it tackled Julieta and drove her back into the small cropping of terrain she and Vidar had stood upon before. With her Reginlaze buried into its side, the Helmwige began to punch savagely down on its foe in a fury of an anguished man who lost his respected superior, his conflicted thoughts forgotten in the rage he felt.

Julieta moved her suit's arms up to brace herself and prepare a counterattack when suddenly the punches stopped halfway through a new volley. It took Julieta a moment to notice, but to the side of the Helmwige now stood the Vidar stabbing into the now gaping hole that it had first opened and which Julieta had reinforced.

The Helmwige collapsed down and Vidar used his suit's firearm to fire into the many cracks and holes left in it to make sure of its defeat, landing the killing blow after Julieta cracked its shell and paved the way for it.

Grateful that she was no longer being pummeled into a wall, Julieta let out a breath of relief to her partner, "Thank you, Vidar..."

Should she call him Vidar now, even though she knew who he was? He had chosen the name for a reason...did he want to be identified by it and abandon his past still, or did he wish to return to normalcy now that McGillis was defeated? Not knowing the answer to this, and not knowing how to broach the subject, Julieta lapsed into silence as Vidar stood still near her in his suit.

It took a few moments, but eventually Vidar was the one to resume the conversation, something now on his mind as he sat in his cockpit with his hands before him.

"Julieta."

Not knowing what to say or even do concerning the fact that they just wiped out their political enemy in a moment of opportunity, Julieta stammered as she tried to gather herself, "Y-yes?"

"Can I...may I ask you to testify to what happened here today?"

Realizing what he meant, Julieta closed her eyes and began to think about how what had happened, "When confronted by someone he had attempted to murder, McGillis Fareed and his ally Isurugi Camice attempted to silence Gaelio Bauduin. At one point, McGillis attempted to try and recruit him to his subversive cause that seeks to defeat Gjallarhorn. In response to the offer granted to him, Gaelio fought McGillis and in the end McGillis was slain during a final attack on Gaelio."

It was not the entire truth, but it did cover much of what happened: Isurugi had attacked first when they all had been talking, and McGillis had thrown the first punch in a way even earlier by trying to murder Gaelio much before.

The conversation may have delved deeper into what happened if not for a large stream of light breaking across the sky. The streak of energy was not without any fanfare however, as with it came a loud, inhuman scream, originating from another part of Mars.

Quite sure that something like that could only come from the ancient threat known as the Mobile Armor, Vidar thought that it was time to get back to what they had come here for.

"It appears that we have another foe to face."

Julieta sighed as she realized that something that menacing likely had something to do with this entire situation, particularly why Iok was missing, "Iok likely will be there, if he's alive. He is too stupid not to be."

In agreement for what they had to do next, they both set off towards where the light and noise had originated in another lapse of silence. Eventually however a thought came to mind that amused Vidar enough to mention it.

"I suppose you know my secret now."

"Now..." Julieta let out a sad breath. It was true, after all his little hints and his occasional revelations she had finally had the truth spelled out for her.

Vidar was Gaelio Bauduin, son of the Bauduin family and Gjallarhorn officer who worked to inspect the organization to root out corruption and inefficiency.

He had sought revenge on the vile McGillis Fareed who had tried murdering him, leaving himself as the heir to their family by being engaged to Gaelio's young sister, and gaining the power of the powerful Issue family for his own use following Carta's death...knowing about the Seven Stars and their inner politics did not particularly interest Julieta, but knowing that information as a member of Gjallarhorn and as a retainer of Rustal Elion felt like an obligation.

Julieta felt her hands grip her controls hard enough for her fingers to actually begin hurting.

What now?

He was not a peer to her like she had thought. He wasn't a man raised up by Rustal to become somebody like she had been, he was just like Rustal or Iok.

Did that change anything though? Despite being above her in station and having no obligation to interact with her at all, he had still been friendly to her. He still spent time with her, even giving her a gift.

But now...Gaelio Bauduin...

Julieta shook her head no, dispelling thoughts of the purple haired heir she had really only known by name, "Now's not the time. We'll talk more after the mission Master Rustal gave to us."

"Of course..."

As cathartic or however it may have felt to finally be rid of their shared enemy, there was still work to be done, and so the two departed to where the Mobile Armor and Tekkadan were engaged in brutal combat.

Julieta took a breath to calm herself, actually feeling a smile come to her face as she realized that Gaelio wasn't the only one who might get what he wanted that day: if Tekkadan was already fighting the Mobile Armor and it wasn't defeated yet, she still had a chance to slay it herself and earn its Order for the sake of Rustal.

Anything for him...anything to repay him for how he took care of her and Galan Mossa.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Special thanks to Riibas, LockmanCapulet, Spirit of Justice, Kaiser Chris, adzf98, and Kias for reviewing last chapter! It's really appreciated, and I hope you all continue to enjoy and will leave me your thoughts.**_

 **As you may have noticed, we're going off-canon now. That's going to be a thing. Closer Vidar/Julieta results in them not splitting up to find Iok, and things go differently without Julieta to call Vidar away (she still suggests it, but there's a difference between 'I found Iok come here now' and 'Let's go look for Iok'). Given the circumstance and the performances of both McGillis in the Graze Ritter and Isurugi in the Helmwige in comparison to how well Julieta did against the Mobile Armor, the first two were pretty unprepared for sudden Vidar/Julieta run-in.**

 _ **Any thoughts you may have would be most welcome in the reviews below, and thank you for reading.**_


	5. Comfort

"Vidar."

Julieta frowned as she waited for a response to her knocking on his door. She had come by and knocked on it already, but he had not come to answer it so she had tried peppering in his name to the effort.

After returning from Mars, she had not actually had the chance to really discuss what had happened. They were debriefed, Rustal spoke to them both in private, and Vidar had been spending all of his time after in his room save brief moments to leave for food and other necessities.

Rustal was pleased with the outcome of things, even if it wasn't the one which benefited him specifically the most, so Vidar wasn't sulking about being reprimanded since he hadn't been...no, there was something else eating him, and Julieta was curious just what it was. After all, she had _thought_ at first that he would be happier than ever...he had his revenge that he had sought for so long.

But here he was, silent within his room and hiding away from the world. Only a handful of people currently knew of his secret, but he had little reason to hide anymore...at least, he had little reason to hide his face.

"You can't sit in there all day."

Julieta paused as she waited for him to give some kind of response. Rustal had suggested she come here, to see him...to confirm something. But Vidar wasn't giving Julieta much to work with, even as many on the ship hailed him as some hero for defeating McGillis Fareed and their other enemies in what Rustal claimed to be a justified manner.

How could she tell if...

"Vidar..."

* * *

 _"It seems that we were not the only ones who were busy."_

 _The canyon that Tekkadan had used to engage the Mobile Armor lay in ruin, as did the participants of the battle. Chunks of rock had fallen from where mobile suits had slammed into the canyon walls and large slabs lay down where the Mobile Armor's beam weapon had sliced them off of their original resting place._

 _The only ones still fighting were the Gundam Barbatos and the Mobile Armor Hashmal, the former of which was missing an arm and had sparks flying from it as its eyes shone a blood red. As for the latter, the Mobile Armor had lost pieces of its wings, while its talons lay in disrepair. The body of the ancient weapon was cracked and damaged from strike after strike that had been dealt to it, but it remained functional as the Barbatos lurched from one side to another to avoid its deadly strikes._

 _Without McGillis and Isurugi to aid them it seemed that Tekkadan was having quite the difficult time, even if they had possessed the numerical superiority. Their general mobile suits had been beaten down and torn apart by it, while now even the Gundam in fierce combat with it had been savagely beaten by its menacing foe._

 _As they watched the display from a distance atop one of the tall walls of the canyon, Julieta responded to Vidar's observation with an affirmation of their mission, "We can't let them defeat it."_

 _Thoughts of what Vidar being Gaelio meant were lost on Julieta as her mind honed in on the situation they now faced, her chance to defeat a Mobile Armor and bring glory to Rustal Elion._

 _"Do you remember how, because of Isurugi and McGillis' soldiers, Tekkadan was able to snatch that pirate leader away from you and claim victory?"_

 _Julieta's eyes widened as she realized what Vidar was getting at, even smirking as he spoke again._

 _"I think it is time you returned the favor."_

 _While it was underhanded and in an ideal world Julieta would rather best the beast on her own, she was not going to pass up the opportunity for the Gundam and Mobile Armor to wear one another down so that both foes could be dealt with._

 _"I like the way you think."_

* * *

"Can I come in?"

This time Julieta's attempts to draw Vidar out of his shell seemed to have some impact, for she heard the sound of someone rising from their bed. A moment later, the door opened and Julieta was shocked by the sight before her.

Gaelio Bauduin was standing silently in the doorway, his skin extremely pale from months upon months of covering his entire body to mask his identity. His face was unmistakable, possessing the features Julieta had come to expect after looking up his face and studying it following her return from Mars. He was quite handsome to Julieta's chagrin, even perhaps being attractive enough to be considered beautiful on top of his impressive physique. His purple hair was shorter than it had been in the past, likely so it could fit better in the helmet he perpetually wore, though it was still long for a man and only needed a little time to reach its old length.

Besides his face, with Gaelio not wearing a shirt Julieta was given full view of his abdomen and all of the bandages that adorned it. He had not escaped the battle without his own scrapes and bruises, for which Julieta felt she was to blame though not entirely thanks to the interference of another. Despite his recent wounds that had his upper chest bound in bandages, Julieta could see some other small scars on his body from what she assumed was the leftover marks from his defeat at the hands of McGillis some time ago.

Still, if Vidar...Gaelio was wounded he should be recovering where he could be better tended to, rather than locking himself away in his room where no-one could look after him. Or so Julieta thought and instantly went about explaining to him as a way of not focusing on his body's prime physique that she had to admit begrudgingly she found appealing.

"You really should have spent time in the infirmary."

Gaelio looked away from her and towards the hallway to see if anyone was around, though he seemed relieved to see that indeed no-one was approaching, "Perhaps, but just because you know of who I am does not mean that I..."

Julieta felt a frown tug at her lips as she realized the situation and why he couldn't get actual medical care, instead having to wrap his own bandages if the supplies on the room's desk were any indication, "You don't want others knowing who you are yet."

He stepped aside and gave Julieta a path into the room, which she took since she had already asked to come in. Once inside, he closed the door and left them in the darkness he had been enshrouded in prior to his guest's arrival.

Soon enough, when they got back to Earth and news broke of the circumstances of McGillis' death rather than just the current ambiguity of his status that was officially on the record, everyone would know who Vidar was.

Julieta turned back to face Gaelio, who stood silently as if lost in thought.

"Vidar, you don't need to hide. Not anymore."

* * *

 _"This is the battle you have longed for..."_

 _It took some preparation in his suit, but Vidar was ready to confront the Mobile Armor thanks to having studied them and the Calamity War they came from. While he had not obsessively dove into the subject like McGillis had, he knew that the Gundams would react to the Mobile Armors in a quite violent fashion: the Gundam would seek to destroy any Mobile Armor near it, and this would come at the cost of anyone connected to the Gundam through the Alaya-Vijnana system being irreparably damaged by their suit while gaining a boost of power in order to defeat the deadly Mobile Armor._

 _The Kimaris, now known as the Vidar, would have no such issue. Not only did Gaelio not have the Alaya-Vijnana implanted in him and his suit's safety measures overridden, he also had a special system implanted in the Kimaris to boost its already considerable capabilities._

 _Lowering his head, Vidar prepared for the conflict that his friend had truly craved. While McGillis had been the main object of his own revenge, Tekkadan and the Barbatos' pilot._

 _"Ein, give me the strength I need. The Kimaris and I need you...I ask only of you this one, final battle."_

 _First, crippled and interned in the Graze Ein, Gaelio's loyal subordinate Ein Dalton now lived on essentially as an AI that inhabited the Kimaris. He was not alone however within the machine, possessing a sister AI in the form of the Kimaris itself._

 _Not about to ignore the other system inhabiting his machine, one which was brimming with energy born of its Mobile Armor bloodlust as they sat at the edge of the range a Gundam frame would perform normally without going all-out and seeking the blood, or rather fuel, of the Mobile Armor they sensed._

 _"And this should suit you, my Kimaris," Gaelio grinned beneath his helmet as he realized that his machine likely sought vengeance as well as him after the damage it had incurred in previous bouts against Tekkadan, even if the one who had heavily damaged it now laid dead on the surface of Mars, "The last encounter we had with these foes, you protected me and saved my life, but today we must be the ones who come out on top. Your mortal enemy and my own are before us. With your power, let our vengeance fall upon these villains."_

 _Gripping his controls, Gaelio calculated the path he should take to assault his chosen target and then set his suit into motion to do just that. His body was tense, having grown rigid after the moment his blade impaled McGillis' Graze Ritter. As much as he wanted to, he could not just ignore the fact that he had slain the person who had once been his best friend, and the only thing keeping him from just pausing to examine that feeling, that event, was how he had to keep going right now. He wasn't done yet, for McGillis was only one piece of a much larger lust for revenge._

 _As they continued to fight intensely, the Gundam Barbatos swiped at the Mobile Armor as the white and orange machine flitted around it at an inhuman speed. The Gundam's sword was knocked from its grip as it dodged to avoid a powerful attack from the Hashmal. It was during this exchange that the Barbatos' barely functioning sensors warned it of an approaching Gjallarhorn unit, though it was everything its pilot could do to avoid the fencing sword thrust towards it: dodging the follow up kick from the Vidar was impossible, for Gaelio had assumed his first strike would miss and so had twisted the Vidar to have its second attack ready the very next moment._

 _While a kick of a bladed foot slicing through many of the pieces comprising the Gundam's neck may have been a problem in its own right, the fact that the Barbatos was thrown in the direction of the attack it had just been dodging caused it to be thrown back with deadly force and slam into the canyon wall. It bounced off of the wall and landed in a kneeling position before it, only to be slammed straight back into the wall with a piercing strike to its lower abdomen not high enough to strike the pilot but able to still wreak havoc on its functionality._

 _The Barbatos thrashed before the Vidar grabbed it by its throat and slammed Tekkadan's primary mobile suit's face against the canyon wall behind it, threatening to rip off the piece entirely as the Barbatos began to malfunction further._

 _"Mikazuki Augus, the demon of Tekkadan."_

 _Gaelio had been able to match the Barbatos and its pilot with his triple Alaya-Vijnana system in the Kimaris Trooper at Edmonton, only to be interrupted in their close conflict by the Grimgerde. Now, with an upgraded Kimaris against a heavily wounded Barbatos, even if it had been upgraded too, there was no contest. The only things capable of saving the Barbatos were the unwitting Mobile Armor and other members of Tekkadan, with those present at the battle already on their last legs and their reinforcements not yet there._

 _The pilot of the Barbatos, Mikazuki, recognized the voice of the person speaking to him and was actually surprised to hear it again, "Gal-"_

 _The Vidar let go of the blade impaling the other Gundam and instead used that fist to gut-punch the Gundam it was still 'choking'. Gaelio felt fine with taking his time, for shortly after he had assaulted the Barbatos the Reginlaze piloted by Julieta had attacked the Mobile Armor. In its wounded state, halfway to death's door, having a mobile suit ensnare its claws and begin grappling with it was quite the issue, since while it still possessed much of its speed it was struggling to keep dodging and attacking with the efficiency it had before. It couldn't deal with multiple targets with ease now, making Julieta assaulting it full force more troublesome than it would have been before, in turn granting Gaelio a chance to work through his anger towards the tool McGillis had used to kill so many friends and allies._

 _"I first met you here on Mars after two foolish children ran in front of my car. I swerved to keep from hitting them, but still was assaulted for my efforts. Not the best of introductions I must say."_

 _Mikazuki struggled in his cockpit to try and make his Gundam move again, only for another slam into the canyon wall to send even more systems offline as the Barbatos began to run out of the fumes it had been functioning on._

 _"It has always struck me as odd that you would first jump to attack someone before confirming if they were even okay. Then I remember reading of the coup you and your allies pulled to form your organization, and it seems like you are just a loyal attack dog who doesn't care who or what situation is in front of him, you just will remove it without hesitation."_

 _A punch straight to the Barbatos' cockpit removed any remaining efforts to fight back as the suit fell completely limp. He would feel bad for abusing a situation to his advantage given the lack of honor if not for how the person he was beating down right now would do the exact same thing should the positions be reversed. He would not afford pity for someone without it._

 _"Not every Gjallarhorn pilot is like Orliss, yet you treated Crank, who refused to fight until you had attacked his team specifically, with the same scorn as him. You killed countless Gjallarhorn members in your assignment to protect Kudelia Aina Bernstein, but upon the death of one of your friends by Carta you were enraged. Imagine then how I must feel...you killed Carta. You killed Ein. You've killed so many..."_

 _Each major loss Gjallarhorn had suffered had been due to this monstrous strength displayed by this Gundam, forcing their way forward through brute strength and nothing else each step of their way. Gaelio took some comfort in the fact that, while he could not make their entire organization pay for their crimes, he could remove the one thing allowing them to stay afloat in this dog-eat-dog world. Simply killing McGillis would quite damage their future prospects by removing the one who made the world an easier place for them to thrive, but removing the backbone of their fighting force would be a death sentence to the organization._

 _"And yet, despite your skill, you only have come this far with the aid of McGillis, but I am afraid he will not be joining us for the rest of anyone's life," Gaelio let out a content sigh as he prepared to end things and to go help Julieta, "How fitting that his tools and rabid animals fall apart the moment he exited the picture."_

 _"Mikazuki!"_

 _Vidar sidestepped the melee weapon hurled at him by one of the Landman Rodis present at the scene, the Tekkadan mobile suit having stopped fighting the Mobile Armor after sustaining major damage just like the others so as to not get in the way of Mikazuki as he fought the Mobile Armor. The weapon instead lodged itself in the Barbatos in its already damaged frame._

 _It seemed now that Mikazuki Augus would not be the only casualty Tekkadan faced that day._

 _"Your friends wish to help you. Unfortunately for them, they do not appear to be in much better shape than you now."_

 _Gaelio pulled his blade out cleanly from the Barbatos, letting it crumple to the ground lifelessly as he avoided the gunfire the Rodi fired at him after using its one arm to grab a nearby discarded rifle. The shots were wild and inaccurate as the Rodi struggled to stand at all with it sustained damage, standing made more difficult as a blade was shoved straight through its abdomen._

 _"Chad!" cried the voice of a young member of Tekkadan piloting a pink frame. He lifted it up despite its damaged leg joints from an attack from the Mobile Armor earlier, barely able to keep stable on its feet and so he used the Shiden's thrusters to fly instead, "You bastard!"_

 _The swipe of his sword cut through the air as the Vidar twisted around its arc and kicked the back of the suit to prepare it for a quick finishing lunge._

 _"Azee!"_

 _The pink Shiden was pushed aside by one of Tekkadan's others as it attempted to move the Shiden out of the way of the lethal strike. Instead of the pink Shiden being skewered it was Azee Gurumin's of the Turbines, sending an already damaged suit into complete disrepair as the metal rod pierced vital systems._

 _"Laf..."_

 _The Shiden struggled briefly before collapsing, leaving its pilot trapped inside a broken suit no longer capable of combat. Vidar stood still and watched as a nearby Shiden fired up at him pathetically, its efforts completely in vain because the Vidar's armor, while not as thick as the Kimaris Trooper's, was more than enough to shrug off ranged gunfire._

 _Vidar felt the Kimaris tug towards the Mobile Armor nearby, not wanting to fight small fries anymore when such large prey was right in their grasp, and so he decided to accede to its demand and finish things up. Stomping on the head of the Shiden shooting at him, he then kicked it aside and approached the pink one that had been shoved out of the way by a pilot looking after it._

 _"That offensive color..." Gaelio snarled as he was reminded of the mobile suit that had offended Ein, and if the increase in his Gundam's performance the past few moments he just was becoming aware of meant anything then so was Ein, "It is your misfortune to use it today."_

 _Inside the Barbatos, Mikazuki fell free from the Alaya-Vijnana connection and felt most of his body drop like dead weight. No longer able to control it, he was left crippled as the last sensor of his suit showed to him the brutal mauling of the mobile suit Ride had 'borrowed' to join the fight again from Shino's collection._

 _Once the Shiden was dealt with at maximum prejudice, Gaelio returned to his original prey and ignored the other scattered mobile suits. Mika looked up to see that above him was hovering the blade that had run through the Barbatos before, and there was nothing he could do to escape from the dead machine._

 _"I need to be done here before more of your ilk arrive, so this is goodbye, Mikazuki Augus. I wonder how your allies will fare without you? How Kudelia will survive without her ardent protectors?"_

 _Screams echoed across Tekkadan's communication lines as the Barbatos had its cockpit run through, and they did not die down when a moment later the Gundam frame was engulfed in flames as the blade detonated inside the machine._

* * *

"What now?"

Julieta watched Gaelio sit on his bed while revealing her confusion with her face, not understanding what Gaelio meant by 'What now'. He hadn't planned ahead yet for what would happen when he actually _got_ his revenge?

"Huh?"

Gaelio looked down at his hands and had a small smile grow on his face, though it wasn't one of someone who was actually happy. It was weak, unsure even, and showed that instead of the feeling it was supposed to convey that he was facing a crisis of emotion instead.

"The people I wanted to take revenge on are gone. I've avenged Carta, I've avenged Ein..."

Julieta decided to sit down beside him, not even thinking of the need to ask permission to sit on the bed. Looking up at his face, with the odd facade he held, and then down at his hands, Julieta felt her heart sink as she realized he really didn't know what to do now.

McGillis was dead, Mikazuki Augus was dead, McGillis' ambitions were ruined, and Tekkadan was now on a path towards destruction...but could he even go back to his old life? His friends were all dead, and more than that they had been lost thanks to a betrayal by one of them. He had his life torn from him violently and now that he had revenge on the people who had destroyed everything he knew, how was he supposed to just go back to how things were?

His voice trembled as he continued to speak, "I didn't expect to feel any different, but now I feel empty. Hollow. I just killed the man I once thought of as a brother to me, while the others I cared for are gone because of him..."

Thinking of what she knew of Gaelio Bauduin rather than just Vidar, Julieta realized that while he had indeed lost more than someone ought to and suffered through quite the ordeal, he _might_ still have some things left. While he didn't seem to be the sort to be captivated by the wealth or the status of his position, he _did_ seem to be the sort who cared about friends and family, and Gaelio Bauduin still possessed one half of that.

Julieta moved closer to Gaelio and touched one of his arms gently, not knowing how to really comfort someone and going off of what she imagined someone else might do in this position, "You still have your sister, don't you?"

Gaelio's weak grin remained as he gave a similarly weak chuckle, "I worry what she may say when she learns I have slain her fiance."

While that was entirely possible, Julieta refused to accept the possibility that Gaelio's little sister would for some reason turn on him because he harmed someone who was manipulating her for his own ends...and, oh yeah, had tried murdering her brother. Almiria Bauduin would probably be upset someone she knew had died, but once she learned the details of the situation Julieta was certain even a young child would see reason on the matter.

Julieta would like to think at that age she would have been able to.

"She is your family. She will still love you, if not entirely grateful that her brother saved her from such a man."

He seemed worried and unconvinced, prompting Julieta to begin feeling even worse for him. Even now when he should be celebrating his victory over a horrible villain, he was tortured over the damage that villain had inflicted in his life and all of the damage that they may still yet cause.

Hugs were not something Julieta was used to since while Galan could occasionally show affection, he was the only one who would. Rustal was her superior officer and so he did not show the same kind of closeness Galan did, and Julieta didn't expect him to, so Galan was her sole source of hugs prior to his death, and even then it had been quite some time.

All the same, this did not stop her from reaching over to Gaelio and wrapping her arms around him in a show of care and support.

"But even if you don't have your sister, you still have me. I owe you my life, and I don't hide from my debts."

At first Gaelio seemed shocked by the sudden contact, but after a moment his body calmed down and he slowly came to return the gesture. Julieta felt nervous at having someone who wasn't her father-figure embracing her, particularly since she hadn't let anyone else do so in the past.

Still, even if Gaelio's grip was tight around her, Julieta didn't find herself objecting. In fact, it kind of felt nice to share physical contact with someone else for once.

It wasn't like they were kissing or anything, after all. Just sharing a nice, friendly, supportive hug with the man who saved her life.

* * *

 _While Vidar was enjoying himself punishing the pilot of the Barbatos in a brutal, one-sided display, Julieta was struggling to keep up against the Mobile Armor as it flitted around the battlefield with deadly intent. She had managed to impale it on the 'neck' a few times with well timed strikes, but it had retaliated by tossing her aside like a ragdoll. She of course leapt back into the fray to fight again, but it was a struggle each moment to not just be slain outright by its claws as the Hashmal tried to deal with the threat posed to it by this green mobile suit. Had it not already been beaten down by the Tekkadan force prior to her battle with the machine, it would have been able to beat her already, but the damage it had suffered was giving Julieta just the edge she needed to survive against it and keep fighting it while wearing down its body bit by bit._

 _Still, Julieta was growing flustered with each major hit she suffered by the deadly beast, and so she called out to her partner, "Vidar, finish up with them already!"_

 _"Don't worry, I am done here."_

 _Julieta spared a glance to see that Vidar indeed had just finished off the Barbatos, the machine's wreckage now strewn across the canyon with bits embedded in the wall. This glance cost her a chance to retaliate against the Hashmal, but it did give her a better clue as to what her situation was now that Tekkadan's fighting force had been neutralized._

 _With a quick dodge Julieta managed to avoid a lash of the Hashmal's thin tail that instead struck the immobile form of one of the Tekkadan suits, while Vidar rushed in to hack away at the Mobile Armor using not his own thin and piercing blade but rather the dropped sword of the Barbatos. The Hashmal had no way of knowing that it would be facing a Gundam faster than any before it, and so the machine's calculations were faulty when it attempted to dodge Vidar's first strike, aimed at the 'head' of the beast._

 _The strike with the giant blade bashed the head to one side as the Hashmal failed its attempt to avoid it, knocking the Mobile Armor in one direction which was exploited by Julieta who leapt at it with her Piles that, while not as lethal as the sword, still could impale it with their sharp edges. This in turn tore off some of its armor plating from its back, but the Hashmal refused to just take this laying down and so it reorganized its combat information to better account for the seeming insane speed of the Vidar. It couldn't sense what Gundam model it was facing, but it still could tell that one of the machines created to destroy it was now engaging it and so it set its sights on it now that they were in direct conflict._

 _However, the speed of the Vidar was still in excess of its expectations even with them readjusted, thanks in part due to the Kimaris engaging in the anti-Mobile Armor mode which caused its eyes to glow with streaking lights of energy. The Vidar would already have possessed the speed necessary to match the Hashmal, but this system boost was enough to tip the scales. The consequence of the Kimaris engaging in this mode was negated, that being the Alaya-Vijnana system pilot being crippled by its usage like Mikazuki had been, thanks to the one syncing with it being the AI form of Ein, who fulfilled that purpose by lending an extra edge to the Vidar through his control over the systems and inhuman reaction time. Gaelio's considerable talents were simply being boosted by a sentient machine that was almost running itself with the sole purpose of burying its blade deep in the body of the Hashmal._

 _With the machine's attention mostly on Gaelio, Julieta was given near free reign to assault it when it tried avoiding one brutal strike after the next only to fall victim to a series of smaller ones from her. Using his speed to drive the sword deep into the Hashmal's cracked armor, more sparks flew from the machine as it began to break down by by bit. So deep was the sword however that the Vidar was slow to remove it, giving the howling Mobile Armor an opportunity to retaliate._

 _Julieta saw its tail aim to ensnare the Vidar and so she reacted with a constricting attack of her own, using her Twin Piles to grab and tug the tail out of the way just before it impacted the Vidar as it separated itself from the Hashmal. This in turn bought Gaelio an opportunity to reposition himself and bring the Barbatos' blade down on the head of the Mobile Armor, burying it partly into the cracked structure before spinning around mid-air using the leg thrusters on the Vidar to pull the blade out and swing it with new momentum into the side of the beast's head._

 _Part of its 'jaw' or 'beak' tore off as the bird-like Mobile Armor lurched over and collided with the nearby wall of the canyon. It tore itself out of where it had been driven into it, desperate to continue fighting despite the damage it just caught directly to a vital region, but it erupted out right into the blade swing of the Vidar, their momentum meeting and driving the Barbatos' blade deep into the machine's neck._

 _The Mobile Armor let out another monstrous howl as it tried lashing out with a claw towards Vidar, only for the machine and its operator of the same name to sidestep it deftly and bash aside the limb with a brutal strike. Gaelio felt himself crack out of the numb sensation that had overcome him since McGillis' death for a moment as he experienced a sensation unlike any other he had ever felt, as if he directly felt the spirit of Ein and of the Kimaris overlapping with his own, the connection his helmet gave to his suit tuning him in to the power it held, "That's it!" nearly roaring, Gaelio pressed forward the attack as he felt a three way sync between himself, his fallen friend, and the machine that was granting them this opportunity, "This may not be the foe you sought, but now we are back. Show them your pride, Ein, show them the spirit of a true warrior!"_

 _In a flurry of slashes and swipes that were almost beyond Gaelio's own comprehension thanks to the speed at which he was engaging in a carnal beatdown of the Hashmal, he cut off one of its wings, carved out a large portion of one of its legs, and also buried the blade deep down into its body. A thrash from the Mobile Armor forces him to leave the blade where it had been inserted, forcing him to retreat momentarily without it but dealing no actual damage to the Vidar as it used its superior speed to avoid the backlash._

 _Taking a breath from the relentless strike, Gaelio saw that Julieta was leaping in to grab his blade, but not before first punching with a Pile hard against the half-broken neck of the Hashmal to put pressure on the heavily damaged joint, "Hah!" she yelled upon impact, possessing some of the same enthusiasm Vidar felt as she saw victory rapidly approaching. As the Mobile Armor's head swung one way, Julieta grabbed hold of the Barbatos' sword and ripped it out to hack away the last of the machine's neck, "This should be the final blow!"_

 _The Hashmal twisted to try and throw her off, something which didn't work as well as it planned thanks to Julieta anchoring herself with one of the wires from her weapons. It did cause her to change her trajectory for her finishing attack, which in turn caused something to shoot her in the back thanks to her new positioning by the head/neck of the Mobile Armor._

 _Julieta gasped as she was stunned by the sudden heavy impact of a powerful ranged weapon, time which the Hashmal used to try and impale her in, "What the-"_

 _Instead of striking her however the Hashmal stomped down and impaled the Vidar as it tried to tackle her Reginlaze out of the way. The Reginlaze tumbled away as the Mobile Armor stomped down again and again on the Gundam beneath it._

 _"Vidar!" Julieta yelled as she saw his suit begin to be pummeled by the Mobile Armor now that it finally made contact with its target. As she regained her bearings, Julieta looked to see what new enemy was getting in their way, "Who the hell did that?"_

 _In the distance stood a black and yellow Reginlaze with a large rifle meant for ranged combat, one which would have shot the Hashmal where the head and neck joined had Julieta not been twisted into its firing trajectory._

 _"Did I hit it?" came a voice familiar to both Julieta and Vidar, but which neither wanted to be hearing at a time like this._

 _"Iok!" Julieta growled at the unwanted aid, Iok having gotten in their way once again. Her anger only lasted long enough for her to notice that the Vidar was struggling to grapple against the talons bearing down on him. She felt the anger give way to extreme worry as she saw that the cockpit had been impaled by one of the sharp blades and that another strike might tear it open entirely._

 _Not about to let that happen, Julieta used her anchoring wire again to alter the trajectory of the leg so that it wouldn't impale him again. As she kept it from finishing the job, Julieta cried out on the radio, "Vidar! Vidar, please, get up!"_

 _The Hashmal lifted up into the air a bit with its one wing before trying to slam down on the Gundam beneath it, only to find that it impacted the ground instead and that the Vidar was missing. It twisted around to see that in a burst of speed the Gundam had joined Julieta, but it needed to get up in order to give him chase._

 _"I will be fine," Gaelio said as blood dripped down his chest from where shrapnel had cut across him, blood now dripping inside his helmet thanks to how he had been jostled in the cockpit, "Now, together."_

 _Julieta handed over the Barbatos' blade and drew her second Pile again as the two of them looked at the Mobile Armor rushing their way. Vidar leapt forth and bashed down the machine's head down into the dirt, jumped to its wing and with a series of blows cleaved the other flight enabling structure off, and then, in a display surprising to Julieta as she pummeled its neck again, tossed the blade back to her. Julieta caught it and stabbed it straight into the neck, which after a tear upwards and then swing downwards ripped it off entirely. The Hashmal's head fell to the ground along with the torn pieces of its neck, though the body continued to move after the removal of the head, so Julieta stabbed the sword down into the open wound of the neck._

 _No longer able to stabilize itself on one leg, the Mobile Armor fell to the ground without a sign of it still having any functionality. What had been already damaged upon their arrival had now been defeated, and the Mobile Armor's threat was no more._

 _Shocked by the fact that she actually managed to pull it off, Julieta took a moment to process the victory, "I...I did it..."_

 _"Congratulations Julieta Juris. You have earned an Order of the Seven Stars," Vidar said in an amused tone to her, "Or should it be Eight?"_

 _Julieta was going to question what he meant by that when multiple signatures belonging to unfriendly forces appeared on the radar._

 _"I would suggest we celebrate, but it is time for us to leave," Vidar noted dryly, to which Julieta agreed fully._

 _"Right."_

 _They had what they came for and more: the defeat of the Mobile Armor, McGillis defeated once and for all, and Tekkadan's fighting force diminished._

 _And they found Iok as well, for however much that counted._

* * *

"You would do the same for me, wouldn't you?"

Julieta paused at the question Gaelio posed to her, suddenly wondering if she would indeed have taken a dangerous attack to protect him.

Before she knew his identity, she wasn't sure she would have...but afterwards she had little doubt that she would have protected one of the Seven Stars working with Rustal.

That, and seeing him harmed had made her panic for a moment before her training kicked in and she moved to act. The thought of losing one of the only three people she had ever cared about at all so soon after losing Galan Mossa was too much for Julieta, and she had been pushed to realize that she did fully consider her comrade to be her friend.

"Of course. Don't try to be a hero again though, I can take care of myself."

She was grateful though that he had been there...she just didn't want to admit it, which Gaelio could tell by her pouting expression. He let go of her to Julieta's surprise and he laid down on his bed, which was larger than a normal soldier's likely thanks to Vidar being Gaelio and being a small sign of his background. Once he was laying down he put his arm up around Julieta's waist, while placing the other over his eyes.

"Yes, you can..."

Julieta tried thinking of what to do now, having absolutely no prior experience with anything like this. Little did she know the man laying down next to her was little different, having shied away from the many woman willing to throw themselves at him thanks to his social status. That sort of thing was unbecoming of a Bauduin, or so he had been taught by his blueblood family, and Gaelio wasn't really all that different from Julieta in terms of navigating such waters. He just didn't care and wanted comfort, so he was seeking it from the person seemingly willing to give it to him.

After a moment of them sitting together in the silence, Gaelio spoke again in a soft, nervous voice, "Julieta?"

Julieta looked down and back towards him, glad that the light was so dark in the room that he couldn't see her blush born of her embarrassment in the situation, "What is it?"

"Can I ask..."

Gaelio stopped, as if he was contemplating something. What, Julieta didn't know, but it must have been important given the time it took him to speak again. She didn't want to interrupt his question or to pressure him, and didn't know what to say even if she did want to, so she just waited and let him speak.

"Can I ask you to stay?"

Stay? As in stay the night? That would break so many fraternization rules Julieta was sure...

But, who would complain? Gaelio was all alone right now and didn't have anyone else to help him, so Julieta felt that she had all the more reason to.

And she kind of wanted to see what it was like to spend a night sleeping next to someone, and see what it would be like to wake up with them. Uncharted territory, but he was the only friend she had, and the only one to experience this sort of thing with. Did other friends comfort one another when they were depressed? That sounded like something a friend would do, and so there wasn't anything else to this, right?

Laying down beside him, Julieta voiced her thoughts, "Friends are supposed to be there for one another, right?"

As her arms wove around him, Julieta felt his slowly return the gesture, his hands slightly jittery as if her were nervous. With her head on one of his bed's pillows, Julieta looked over at the man she could tell was close to tears and lifted one of her hands to stroke his face.

How someone could be so callous as to try and murder him was beyond Julieta, and she felt whatever guilt she may have felt over helping bringing down one of the Seven Stars drain from her as she looked at Gaelio's face. His closed eyes carried pain in the way they were shut, and he seemed to now be cracking from the facade he had been keeping for so long.

"McGillis was your friend, but he was the one who hurt you," Julieta said to him in a near whisper, pulling Gaelio in closer to her and bringing her face down into his hair as he curled up softly into her chest, "You've lost all your friends, haven't you? You lost all of the people who you trusted..."

She had heard him speaking to an 'Ein' on the mission, and at the time she hadn't gotten the chance to analyze it, but on the way she had come to remember that an 'Ein' was the subordinate of Gaelio Bauduin who had interfered in the city of Edmonton rather than on its outskirts. Adding that onto the deaths of Carta and now McGillis, Julieta felt he was carrying a heavy burden that she couldn't even begin to imagine bearing herself.

Julieta tried to think of what it would feel like to lose two Galan Mossas and to have a Rustal betray her, only to then have to kill Rustal herself. That wasn't something she was sure she could actually handle, and so she felt some respect for this man who had carried that weight all this time, who had carried on for the sake of those lost even if it meant brutal vengeance upon the third.

Others could have their own opinion, but even as she felt Gaelio cry into her uniform Julieta came to the opinion that he was stronger than almost anyone she had known, second only perhaps to Galan Mossa himself.

"I grew up without anyone but Master Rustal and Mister Mossa. I haven't had friends, so I don't know what it's like to lose them," she rubbed her face against his purple hair and found that, even with how his helmet must have messed with it, it held a silky texture that made her actually kind of jealous, "But if it's like what I felt when my...when Galan Mossa was killed, then I think I know why you've been so..."

She had been ready to judge him once for wanting revenge, but now she couldn't see a way in which he couldn't desire such a thing. And now that anger was seeping out and leaving him with only the tragedy he had been burying deep all this time.

"I'm here for you, Gaelio."

* * *

 _"You defeated it! You beat the Mobile Armor!"_

 _Iok's voice was hyper as Julieta and Vidar escorted him away from the battlefield to meet up with their own forces sent by Rustal to secure the Mars branch and make sure his soldiers could return to the fleet without interference._

 _Julieta may have dealt the last couple blows, but she knew that Vidar in his Gundam had managed to deal the majority of the damage, "Vidar did."_

 _This explanation didn't seem to deter his enthusiasm at all, "And you beat those Tekkadan brats too! Maybe now my men can rest in heaven, knowing that those monsters will be beneath them in hell!"_

 _"We need to contact Rustal to make sure the battlefield remains as it is," Vidar noted, focusing on what still needed to be done rather than patting themselves on the back._

 _Not knowing of the full conflict that had broken out, Iok spoke confidently about a matter he had no idea about, "I, Iok Kujan of the Seven Stars, will affirm that indeed the Mobile Armor was defeated by you two and that its credit belongs with you. After all, it is not as if the others fighting it can lay claim."_

 _Still mad at Iok for having shot her and causing Vidar to get injured, Julieta responded in an annoyed voice, "He means where he and I fought McGillis and his subordinate, didn't you, Vidar?"_

 _"Yes. It needs to be handled correctly."_

 _This revelation shocked Iok, who gasped as he tried to grasp the situation, "Wait, are you telling me that you fought against McGillis?" after gawking at it for a moment he shook his head and inquired further, "Do we have him in custody now or did that fiend escape?"_

 _"Vidar killed him after they attacked us," Julieta succinctly summarized the event, not wanting to give Iok of all people a play by play of the battle._

 _"Why would McGillis attack you...wait, was this retaliation for my attempt to arrest him?"_

 _Gaelio sighed as he realized that Iok would raise a fuss if they didn't give him enough information, so he started the process, "No. When I came across them, I confronted McGillis over his attempt some time back to murder me. Of how he manipulated Carta Issue to cause her death."_

 _"Attempted murder..." Iok nodded as he tried to piece together what little he knew about Vidar, "Is that why you joined Master Rustal against McGillis? McGillis tried murdering you? Why would a member of the Seven Stars commit such a vile act?"_

 _"Iok, you had to grow up with the other members of the Seven Stars. Do you honestly not recognize his voice?" Julieta scolded him, "How do you think he knows so much about McGillis?"_

 _Even the normally clueless Iok was able to piece things together with that much information, and so he gawked once again in surprise, "Gaelio Bauduin?" his voice possessed the energy of an excited child as he pieced together more of the picture, "Gaelio, is that you?"_

 _Resigned to this discovery of his identity, Gaelio sighed and went through with it, "Yes."_

 _"So that's what happened to you..."_

 _Iok's thoughtfulness disappeared in a blink of the eye as his excitable nature returned._

 _"Gaelio, thank you! Thank you for avenging my men! I owe you a debt of gratitude for not only saving my life, but in bringing McGillis to justice for his crimes! When we return I will let everyone know of what you've accomplished today!"_

 _In a private communication, Julieta spoke to Gaelio as she realized he may not have wanted Iok to know about his identity given how Iok would respond, "I apologize. Did you want to..."_

 _"It's fine. Everyone will know soon enough," Gaelio said back to her before returning to the normal communication channel, "But, Iok, do not tell anyone just yet."_

 _"Of course! It is the least I can do after you avenged my men and saved my life, Gaelio!"_

* * *

"You called me by my name..."

Julieta paused at the subject of names. He had chosen to be Vidar, so would he still want to be Vidar? Would Gaelio Bauduin even want to go back to being Gaelio Bauduin? Curious, she inquired him about it since she really was not one to shy away from airing what was on her mind.

"Do you still want to be Vidar?"

"No..." he sighed and shook his head. After a pause he took a breath and spoke to the woman beside him, "I'm not quite sure yet what I want to be, but I don't need to be that anymore."

Something from her last conversation with their leader made Julieta curious about their future together...as friends, of course, "Are you going to stay with Master Rustal even after you return home?"

Gaelio let out a breath and smiled sadly, "I will likely have to resume my previous duties, but given my killing of another member of the Seven Stars I likely won't be returning to active duty for some time, perhaps even months if things drag out too long," it took a moment, but a thought came across his mind that he offered to answer her question more, "Maybe I'll be an inspector again. Help make right some of the injustices in the world."

"Then..."

Inspectors didn't stay tied down to one spot. They went to investigate things, and that mean they moved around to wherever they were needed. Such a position wouldn't be able to really stay confined to Rustal's fleet, meaning that if Gaelio went back to his old job that he would be leaving her behind.

Gaelio realized this as well, and he vocalized it sorrowfully, "We probably wouldn't see each other again, unless we went out of our way to do so."

Julieta huffed, not pleased by this outcome to things. She was fine being apart from people she was close to if need-be, but that didn't mean she _liked_ it, particularly if it would be a pretty permanent arrangement, "I don't like that. I like you, and not having you would mean I'll be left behind with Iok."

"I wouldn't want to do that to you," Gaelio laughed genuinely, though as his laugh died down he came to possess a nervous voice once again, "So, would you come with me?"

"I-" Julieta gasped in surprise as she heard him ask something impossible of her, "I serve Master Rustal, I cannot leave his service. I owe him everything I have."

"Then I'll ask him for permission to have one of his soldiers as an escort. After all, what are you doing now but serving as an extra guard to Iok?"

He...he was actually kind of right. So long as Rustal could claim protecting Gaelio was in his interests, Julieta could have the same justification for protecting Gaelio as for protecting Iok.

If she had to choose, Julieta would much rather guard Gaelio. He wasn't braindead and constantly causing them issues, and she respected him.

"I..."

And it would mean more time with Gaelio, which Julieta always enjoyed.

"If Master Rustal believes that I should protect you rather than Iok, then I shall not object."

"I think he'll say yes," Gaelio smirked, though it slowly faded as something came to his mind. All this time, Julieta was the one giving him the comfort and company he craved, and he felt guilty for not providing the same to him, "You do so much for me, Julieta. I wish I could give you something back to thank you."

Julieta grinned as she shook her head to fight the idea that he was only taking from her when in fact she felt she owed him far more.

"You allowed me to take the Order, even though between the two of us you accomplished more."

"I suppose I did..." Gaelio sighed as the important subject came up, one he had been hoping to save until they got back to Earth, "But at least for now I think I will allow you to hold it," he reaffirmed his grip around her back and moved himself to a slightly more comfortable position on the bed, "And I do mean you. You were the one to have slain the Mobile Armor, not me, not Rustal, and most certainly not Iok. You are the one deserving of its honor."

To that, Julieta had no response, for she had not contemplated the issue yet and was beginning to feel too groggy to actually do so. Because of this she was glad that Gaelio offered up another subject for conversation.

"If you feel like you still owe me anything, can I ask something else of you?"

"What is it?"

Gaelio took a deep breath in and then let it go, taking a huge leap and hoping he wouldn't crash and burn during it.

"Can you...can you come with me when I go home to meet my family?"

Julieta snorted at his expense, a grin growing on her as she became amused at the prospect that Gaelio needed someone to come with him to visit his family, as if he needed protection, "And here I thought you were strong. Are you scared of your little sister and elderly father?"

Gaelio blushed as he grew embarrassed by the true fact that he wanted someone to help him out in meeting his family again, "I've been hiding from them all this time, in a way. I've been off on my own while they both believe me to be dead."

Someone better versed in social graces might think that going to meet someone else's parents was like being asked on a major date, but Julieta had no such comprehension and so just accepted it at face value. Rustal had told her to expand her horizons a bit from just being a pilot, and so this would be a good opportunity to do something that wasn't fighting or practicing for fighting.

"If it means meeting a little girl with the power to scare you, then I'll gladly escort you when you meet your family."

Seeing how far he could take this, Gaelio grinned as he pushed the envelope a little, "Will you wear a dress like all the other ladies that will be there?"

"You really have a sense of humor."

Having tried and failed, Gaelio shrugged tiredly, "At least someone finds me funny."

A few moments passed and Julieta came to realize that his breathing had grown softer and have more of a rythm to it, bringing her to the suspicion that he had drifted off to sleep in her arms.

"Gaelio?"

Light breathing was the only response she would receive, and so Julieta moved a little to set up the bed and covers on them, to help him rest better. To help _them_ rest better, for she had told him she would stay with him and she intended to fulfill that promise.

"Goodnight."

This physical interaction thing wasn't too bad after all it seemed.

* * *

 _"Julieta, what is on your mind?"_

 _"I..."_

 _Having come to Rustal's office on her own after all their debriefings, the member of the Seven Stars was quite curious about what inspired Julieta to seek him out. He thought it would be something concerning Mars or what happened, but little did he know that in fact it was something Julieta had come to realize while returning from Mars that had her so incensed that she needed to see him._

 _"I am emotionally compromised, sir," Julieta said while bowing her head both out of respect and shame, "I consider Vidar, Gaelio Bauduin, to be my friend and so my judgment concerning observing his activity is untrustworthy."_

 _Realizing now what was on her mind, Rustal made no issue of the matter, "Now that he has gone ahead and taken his revenge, Gaelio Bauduin's time with this fleet will likely come to an end. I was concerned where he might go to take his revenge, but now that is no longer a concern, so there is no need for you to keep an eye on him."_

 _The thought that Gaelio might leave...Julieta frowned as the possibility struck a chord in her she didn't know she had. She didn't want him to go, to her own surprise, and felt that she would be sad if he did._

 _However, Rustal was not done with the subject there and so he spoke again with a grin that was not one of his usual sinister looking ones but rather a genuine display of warmth, "So, you consider him your friend now? Is that why you went so far as to help him fight one of the Seven Stars when you were not ordered to?"_

 _Suddenly feeling self-conscious over her decision and doubting her choice to aid Gaelio based on her growing friendship with him, Julieta tried to defend her actions, "McGillis was guilty, they attacked us, and McGillis even admitted to his crimes during the battle, Master."_

 _Rustal nodded once, "Have you seen Gaelio outside of your debriefings since your return? I hear he has been a recluse since his return, and I cannot blame him given his circumstances. He has a lot to think about, or so I believe."_

 _Julieta shook her head no to his question, before apologizing for what she thought he might criticize her over, "Master Rustal, please forgive me for acting against your orders. It was irresponsible of me, and it may look poorly on your part."_

 _"You are right. The actions of my followers does reflect upon me, and so it may be disadvantageous for me to work so readily with someone who will be under inspection upon our arrival at Earth for their part in the death of a member of the Seven Stars."_

 _He paused to let his words sink in, with Julieta remaining in a shamed bow as she thought them over._

 _What he was saying was that, if things went a certain way, he might have to stop allowing her to be a part of her forces since it would reflect poorly upon him and damage his image...the thought of which frightened Julieta more than almost anything else in her entire life._

 _"You will be cleared of any wrongdoing, but there may still be political ramifications for me using you as my lead pilot now given my rivalry with McGillis."_

 _"I..."_

 _She began to cry, tears slipping out of her eyes as she thought of what might happen in the coming weeks. This however wasn't Rustal's intention, and he had no desire for her to be upset. He just wanted to appraise her of their current situation that stemmed in part from actions she took._

 _"Julieta, I do not begrudge the action you took, and in fact you have done me a great favor. I only am speaking of how others will see it."_

 _Still upset, Julieta plead with him on her own behalf, "Please allow me to continue to serve you, my lord. I will continue to improve my piloting skills so that-"_

 _"Do you believe yourself only a useful hammer for me to wield?"_

 _His words stopped Julieta's attempt to earn absolution, the woman finally rising up from her bow to look at Rustal sitting behind his desk. He was shaking his head, but he seemed to not be judging her so much as he was trying to teach and explain something to her._

 _"Not every problem I face will be a nail. While I am in need of pilots of great skill such as yourself, I need other pieces on the chessboard than pawns."_

 _Confused, Julieta tried to explain that she was merely a pilot, a simple instrument to be used as she had been taught to be, "The bearded man...he trained me to be your soldier. It's all I know and can do."_

 _"That may be true, but I do not want you to simply take his place as a useful soldier. With all of my respect towards him, he dedicated his life to fulfill a single purpose and it held but one use. You, however, still possess the potential to be much more."_

 _The suggestion that life could hold more in store for her than simply piloting a mobile suit as she had thought she would for the entirety of her life until death in combat surprised Julieta, "Sir?"_

 _"Take this 'friendship' of yours with Gaelio Bauduin. I see him being a useful ally in our future for many years to come, don't you?"_

 _Julieta found herself absently nodding, not really understanding where her master was going with this but agreeing with his premise._

 _"Whereas piloting skills have but a single purpose and use in the political arena, allies serve a far greater role," Rustal explained, "If you and I maintain strong ties to Gaelio, we will have a powerful member of the Seven Stars aiding us in our goals. So, your bond with him is an example of how you can accomplish things outside of the purview of simply piloting."_

 _That made more sense to Julieta, since by being close to Gaelio that meant he would be loyal to them and be a stalwart ally for years to come. Even to her mind not used to political cunning, that much made sense._

 _What did catch her off guard was Rustal's follow-up question on the same topic._

 _"Do you love him?"_

 _Julieta gasped as she was asked such a powerful question out of the blue, "L-love him?"_

 _Seeing her surprise caused Rustal to laugh, amused by her now rosy cheeks. Not one to embarrass someone needlessly however, he explained the reasoning for his question, "You do appear quite fond of our mutual friend, for I do not remember ever seeing you so close to someone who is not either the bearded man or myself. So I am only asking out of curiosity, since it would explain why you would come to me and ask to no longer spy on him."_

 _"I don't know what that feels like," Julieta admitted while looking away from him, still blushing about the topic, "To be in love, that is. I am new to relationships in general, so something like that..."_

 _"It is fine if you aren't, as I said, it was simple curiosity," Rustal assured her, "In any case, I would suggest that you go see 'Vidar'. He seems to be closer to you than anyone else in the fleet and I would imagine that he could use a friendly face at a time like this."_

 _That made sense, particularly after all that had happened and how as Rustal said Julieta needed to start expanding her toolkit a bit. Being friends with someone was a good first step, she thought, and this was a great time to foster such a relationship._

 _"We will not be back to Earth for quite some time, but when we do arrive there will be meetings, hearings, and every form of bureaucracy you can imagine thanks to everything that has happened. Now is a good time to use to figure some things out," Rustal grinned warmly at her, "Perhaps you can give some more thought to the trials ahead of us and how you may assist our cause. You are strong-willed and intelligent, so I would think you capable of devising other ways of utilizing your abilities."_

 _Now feeling like she had a mission that was for both herself and her master, Julieta felt eager to set about accomplishing it and so saluted him to signal her coming departure,"Yes sir."_

 _Julieta would not see his normal, more devilish, grin upon her departure as Rustal began to contemplate his own future...a future of his own desires and making now that McGillis was no longer there to oppose him._

* * *

 _ **A/N: Special thanks to Spirit of Justice, LockmanCapulet, Kias, and a guest for your reviews last chapter, for they were very much appreciated and I hope you continue to enjoy and leave your thoughts.**_

 _ **Poor Chad and Ride...I've really been liking them recently, but Mika being the only one to kick the bucket while severely wounded would be odd.**_

 _ **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, and if you have any thoughts please do leave them in the reviews below! Thanks for reading.**_


	6. Home

Gardens and other outdoor facilities stood above the wings that formed the lower segments of the artificial island that in its sprawling landscape on the open seas so well demonstrated the wealth and power of the Bauduin family. Down the middle of the island ran the long enclosed structure that formed the 'house' of the family, though its size and decor was such that if its shape was more traditional it could be considered a mansion.

"Hello and welcome to our home. I am Almiria Bauduin, how may I help you?"

At one end of the island standing in the well-kept garden meant to entice visitors was Julieta, who instead of being captivated by the plants displayed in all their beauty was confused by why people liked these things. They didn't even taste good, as the gardeners would learn by some of them being chewed up and spat out by some unknown predator.

Having been standing and waiting for an hour now, Julieta was a bit snippy as she cast her gaze over to the young girl standing at the front of the house. Their greeting had been quite rehearsed and Julieta wasn't going to censor her curiosity about that.

"Do they make you repeat that to everyone who visits?"

Not having expected to be the one on the receiving end of questioning, the pre-teen girl took a nervous step back from the guest their servants had not seemed to want to confront and thus delayed informing their employers about, particularly since this unknown and seemingly nobody Gjallarhorn officer seemed to just be loitering while waiting for someone of actual importance. They weren't supposed to wait on common people, but after noticing Julieta standing all alone Almiria took it upon herself to get around to doing what their maids and butlers were not going to.

"Uh..." Almiria Bauduin bit her lip. The only one who had truly been confrontational in her life had been Gaelio, who would tease Almiria and argue with her like a brother would, so now having a complete stranger basically make fun of her greeting was a shock to her.

Seeing Almiria's surprise and hair color, Julieta dropped her attitude since it wasn't this young girl she was angry with and the young heiress wasn't to blame for her brother being a no-show.

Julieta shifted the hand she had on her hip and changed her frown to a smirk, "It's no matter. I am just waiting for someone who is supposed to be visiting today."

Seeing Julieta's change in expression helped Almiria recover some of her composure, even if she was still bewildered by Julieta in general, "A visitor? Father didn't speak of a visitor..."

"It is official Gjallarhorn business, so he may have not mentioned it," Julieta offered as an explanation, when in truth they hadn't announced that they would be coming. Gaelio was already self-conscious about returning to meet his family after so long, making calling them to let them know even harder since just arriving and letting the pieces fall where they might only required arriving while calling them would require him to not hang up each and every moment.

It took Gaelio wrestling Julieta to the ground and pinning her until she agreed to put the phone down to get to this point, since she had none of the same reservations he did. He was alive, so why not tell his family? She knew she would want to let Rustal know if she had been missing for months or years the first chance she got.

Since Julieta was apparently there to meet with Gallus on official business, Almiria felt vindicated in her desire to tend to this guest, "Well, if you want, you can wait inside for whoever is coming, Miss..."

Realizing she had not introduced herself yet, Julieta turned and bowed gracefully to Almiria. She might not possess normal social graces, but she was quite used to showing respect towards figures of status and authority...though among them she only respected a handful and to the rest only showed the minimal amount of respect required.

"Julieta Juris. I have been...have worked with your brother Gaelio," Julieta corrected herself as she tried to both explain her relation while revealing who she was, "He and I were...close."

It wasn't exactly a lie. They _were_ close. After all, they were quite close that morning when Julieta woke up beside Gaelio just like every other morning now. Without taking anything further Julieta had turned the night they spent embracing one another into a regular nightly ritual, transforming her habit of spending all her time with Gaelio during the day into one where she didn't return to her own room at night. Yes, for the few who had noticed it had started rumors about her having some kind of affair with the masked man, but Julieta didn't care.

When she woke up after first spending the night with Gaelio Julieta had been a bit embarrassed and had contemplated not acknowledging it all by slipping out and never mentioning it since she was so flustered by how she was still hugging a shirtless man when her eyes opened. A man whose head was buried in her chest and whose arms were still clenched tightly around her, squashing any thoughts about leaving since a little struggle later revealed that she was trapped beside him.

She didn't have any official duties to carry out, so Julieta found herself coming up with reasons to just stay where she was and go back to bed. To 'sleep in' for once. Gaelio would feel bad if he woke up without her there, right? And his bed was comfortable and had great blankets, so it felt _good_ to stay...and he was kind of warm too. His hands felt a bit cold, but his body's heat was indeed nice. She had slipped the upper part of her uniform off the night before, so she felt it right against her skin.

Staying also let her laugh at Gaelio when he woke up with his face still against her chest, his cheeks flushing red as he realized that instead of a uniform against his face there was a sports bra.

Said laughter turned into death threats when he decided to get back at her by going to bed again while using her 'pillows' to sleep comfortably.

Hearing that Julieta was a friend of Gaelio's soured Almiria's mood. The subject of her 'dead' brother was not one that was healing for her, "Oh."

Julieta knew that Almiria didn't have to be sad for her brother anymore, but she _did_ know that somebody Almiria was attached to was dead so she tried to channel that and her own sense of loss over Galan Mossa to feign sympathy when in truth she both knew Gaelio was alive and didn't personally care that McGillis wasn't, "I'm sorry."

Almiria turned around to go inside again, her head hanging as she spoke to herself, "I miss my brother."

Julieta groaned as she fell into step behind Almiria and entered their residence, stepping through the large doors to be met by an array of servants who stood in waiting for their mistress, "I wish he were here."

Which he _should_ be, Julieta lamented. Now she was going in and was going to be dealing with his family without him, when the entire reason she came was to support him. What would she even say if Gallus Bauduin showed up and inquired about her visit? 'Hi, I'm actually here as moral support to your son who isn't actually dead and who killed your would-be son-in-law who had tried murdering him'?

Julieta grinned to herself. Come to think of it, Gaelio had one hour before she went and said something just like that. Perhaps she would sprinkle in bits earlier. Had Rustal even informed everyone over what truly happened on Mars yet? Julieta wasn't sure, but for the most part she didn't care since that was Gaelio's problem and not her own. If it also became her problem she would begin to care, but until then she thought she was doing well enough to support her friend.

Now inside the building, Julieta looked around and found that it was quite the interesting mansion. Instead of just pure displays of wealth it had a comfortable feeling to its layout, being both spacious and possessing plenty of places for one to lounge or otherwise rest. While it could be filled wall to wall with ancient artwork and other garish signs of the Bauduin's money there instead was even a few things Julieta could guess were hand crafted by the young Almiria put on full display like Gallus was showing off his pride in his daughter.

Bringing Julieta to a small lounge within the gigantic home, Almiria showed her guest to a seat and gave her a polite bow.

"Would you like any tea while you wait?"

"That..."

Julieta paused her response, having been about to say that it wasn't necessary right when she recalled Gaelio mentioning one night how the last time he saw Almiria she had been learning how to make tea and was proud of the skill. Since it would likely please Almiria, Julieta decided to drink the unfamiliar liquid and accept her hospitality. Why not indulge her a little? Gaelio would likely appreciate her getting along with Almiria, so it was the smallest of sacrifices.

"That would be nice. Thank you."

Almiria nodded and left to go prepare the tea, leaving Julieta to sit where she had been brought. The room was comparable to what most would call a 'living room' even if it had far more lavish furniture and possessed the size of about two common ones, and inside it possessed far more in the way of personal items than before, with only a few ornate knickknacks and a sizable purple flag with the family's golden symbol of the Norse mythological figure Sleipnir serving as the 'serious' pieces to the room.

With her knowledge of Gjallarhorn and its origins, Julieta possessed some albeit minimal information about the mythological figures which inspired much of its naming systems. It was where Vidar, or rather Gaelio, took his name and that of his mobile suit though Julieta hadn't particularly known of that figure since prior to Vidar's usage of their name it hadn't been one used by Gjallarhorn to her knowledge. What she found interesting by looking at the flag and the symbol of Sleipnir presented on it was how Sleipnir was the son of Loki, a god known for his trickster ways and for deceit.

Perhaps then wearing a mask wasn't so odd for someone born to a family whose mythological figure was in turn born from a Norse god whose motives were often enshrouded to others. Gaelio had hid his face and motivations from the world, and in the end he had caught the object of his vengeance entirely by surprise. Fitting of a son of Loki, Julieta figured.

Moving on from observing the room's fancy decorations, Julieta instead looked to the other things filling it to see what value they held. What first came to her notice was a small bound notebook of sorts next to a small pad for drawing, with a series of different colored pencils sitting in a tray right beside it.

Julieta smirked as she came to the conclusion that this wasn't just a normal guest reception area, but rather where the heiress had been spending her afternoon. Apparently Almiria decided to just bring her guest to where she was staying herself. It was no matter to Julieta however as she didn't mind where she had to sit, she just was grateful she was afforded the opportunity to do so.

Since she had noticed them Julieta decided to look and see what Almiria had been doing prior to receiving their family's guest. She picked up the notebook and flipped through it to see extremely neat handwriting adorning its pages, though observation of the content revealed this to be done by Almiria herself from her point of view. Most would recognize this as a personal diary one should not intrude upon, but not having grown up with a normal upbringing Julieta was clueless to this detail and so casually looked through it for anything of interest only to decide there was no such thing within it about a tenth of her way through the thick diary.

She dropped the diary back down where it had been and began to observe the drawing, finding herself halfway impressed by the young girl's rendition of her family's symbol with the use of pencils. It was of course not perfect, and Julieta thought its seventh leg was a bit off in particular, but for someone...nine? Ten? Maybe Eleven? Whatever her age, Julieta decided it was decent.

A picture frame on a small table at the end of one couch caught her attention next, and Julieta picked it up tactlessly and hovered it in front of her face to get the best view she could of it. In the lavish frame was a picture of Gaelio and his sister together both smiling at the camera, their eyes shut as they seemingly laughed merrily about something that had happened.

While the image might not have been particularly special to most, it was quite the interesting object to Julieta who could see her friend smiling so purely, without pain, and being happier than he likely had been for over a year now...it was a symbol of a bygone era in his life, and seeing how he was and comparing it to his withdrawn self now made her feel a pang like something kind and innocent had been lost.

Seeing this picture made Julieta wonder if there were other similar ones elsewhere in the room, and so began a hunt for picture frames which lasted only about three moments before Julieta saw one hiding on the top shelf of a bookcase the height of the large room.

While someone else might have gone to find a ladder to get the picture that seemed to be purposefully removed from normal sight, Julieta instead casually climbed up the shelves with ease after initially testing how sturdy and stable the structure was. Once she was at the top, Julieta popped her head over to where she had seen the picture and stared right at it.

The reason for it being hidden made some sense even to Julieta, for this one was not of Gaelio and his sister, but rather was of Gaelio, McGillis, and Carta all as children. Julieta did not know Carta all too much, but she did know that she had been close to both Gaelio and the now deceased McGillis, and having a picture of another family's deceased daughter must have been considered uncouth by the Bauduins since it was moved out of the way of most scrutiny. That, or perhaps McGillis suggested its removal from sight in one of his stays at the mansion.

As Julieta finished observing the picture the young heiress of the house returned with the tea her servants had been preparing at first for her and then re-purposed for their guest upon Almiria's suggestion. The girl gasped in surprise as she saw Julieta's position far off the ground, and upon being seen Julieta casually dropped herself back to the ground gracefully. She didn't care that she had been seen, but the tea Almiria said she would bring was there and so Julieta decided it was time to return to the seat she had been first brought to on the couch.

"H-here you are," Almiria stammered as she poured a cup of tea for Julieta in a fine glass worth more than Julieta probably earned in a week.

Julieta took what was offered to her as she sat, though she didn't particularly intend to drink it especially when it was so hot to the touch, "Thank you."

Almiria smiled as she played hostess, "Do you want any lemon?"

Lemons were fine for consumption Julieta thought, having put an entire one in her mouth before before Galan explained that you weren't supposed to eat the skin with it. Then had to explain when Julieta ate it whole minus the skin that it was meant for flavoring rather than raw eating, "If it would not be out of your way."

Having already prepared the lemon in case, Almiria handed Julieta a small tray with lemon slices on it. After smelling the lemon for a moment Julieta bit into it and enjoyed its sour taste before squeezing the other slice into the tea, at first confusing Almiria accidentally by making the girl think Julieta didn't know what the lemon was for before subverting that thought and instead revealing that she had just been a bit hungry and was strange enough to just eat a chunk of lemon without even shaking from the pure, concentrated sourness of it all.

"You are quite well trained for someone your age," Julieta noted after using up the lemon, having decided that Almiria's manners and the like were the equivalent of those taught in the military for one's duties and thus was appropriately respectful towards them.

Almiria bowed her head sheepishly, "I am a lady, so I must fulfill the duty of my family."

"I too do what I can for my...family."

A family comprising of two people...neither of whom were her actual family, at least to Julieta's knowledge. Given that her quiet and solemn comrade suddenly turned out to be a long lost member of the Seven Stars, she honestly wouldn't be too surprised to suddenly learn if she was _someone's_ bastard daughter.

Julieta's reference to her own familial situation intrigued her hostess, "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Shook her head no as she stared down at the tea before her, heat still rising up off of it revealing its present temperature, "No, not in the normal sense. I come from nothing, but Rustal Elion and a friend of his have taken care of me."

"Is he like your father then?" Almiria pieced together as a possible explanation to things.

Rustal Elion, her father? That idea froze Julieta, who wasn't actually all too sure what he could be considered...he took care of her, much as Galan Mossa once had. If by a father Almiria meant male caretaker, then yes, she had such a figure in the form of both Rustal and Galan, though the former was quite formal with her whereas the latter had been warmer and gentler...when he wasn't drilling into her how to fight ruthlessly in mobile suit combat or live the life of a covert mercenary soldier.

"I suppose, though I think most would think he's more of a boss than a father to me."

Almiria looked down as she sat across from Julieta on another couch in the room, this one with its back to the entrance, "Father tries to be a good father, but he is always so busy..." her eyes winced as if she was trying to keep from crying, "After my brother left us, he has to do a lot of family things Gaelio would have been doing."

As much as she wished she could offer some kind of comfort, Julieta struggled to find the right words to do so. She had seen people grieve their loved ones and friends in her past given her line of work and that she grew up around a mercenary company that did extremely dangerous work, but this...this was a little girl who believed that she had lost her brother and now was having memories of his brought to the surface by speaking to one of his coworkers. Julieta didn't have childcare drilled into her by Galan, so she was quite lost with how to deal with Almiria without revealing Gaelio's survival, something which outside of joking thoughts she believed was up to him to handle. It was his life and family after all, though they would know sooner or later when the details of McGillis' death surfaced for all to know.

"Your brother..." Julieta paused to further try and think of what to say, "From what I know of him, he wouldn't want you to cry."

Almiria let out a sniffle as she wiped one of her eyes. This done, she stared at the ground for a few moments before looking up at Julieta with sadness still pouring ouf from her eyes, "You worked with Gaelio, right?"

"We trained and fought alongside one another," Julieta explained, dancing around the truth that she only met Gaelio after he disappeared from Almiria's life under the guise of being dead, "He is my closest friend, even if at first I didn't trust him. He didn't have to be my friend, but..."

A normal person might have recoiled from the person hounding them for questions and trying to unmask them, but Gaelio had let Julieta grow close to him as Vidar. Despite his quest for vengeance which hinged upon his identity remaining a secret so he could catch McGillis by surprise Gaelio still was willing to risk being discovered so that he could befriend her.

Almiria came to smile a little at hearing Julieta's seeming recollection of the elder Bauduin sibling. It seemed that someone else cared for him as well. Lightened by Julieta's words, Almiria responded with a warm fondness of her own as she recalled how her brother was, "I didn't know he had friends other than Macky and Miss Carta...he didn't like the guests we would have because they were too snobby, and he always ran away when girls would want to be with him or when he'd get marriage offers."

Running away from women who would likely gladly bed him and hiding from marriage offers which would afford him wealth, social status, sexual intercourse, and heirs? Julieta was actually baffled by this behavior, since it seemed like Gaelio was abstaining from having just about whatever he wanted.

"Did he not want to be married?"

"I...I don't know," Almiria admitted as she looked back down to the floor, "Gaelio wouldn't want to marry someone because of their money or their name, so maybe he just didn't want to. If he did marry someone with money, he would only be using it as an excuse to be with someone he loved I think."

That seemed more like the Gaelio Julieta knew, since he had been fine hiding his wealth and privilege for quite the extended period of time, to the point that Iok even came to believe himself his superior...and if she was to be honest Julieta hadn't been wary of Gaelio's background either, though she had come fairly close to guessing it correctly and only failed due to thinking Gaelio had died. He cared more about who people were than what they were she reckoned, or else he would have befriended that fool Iok for the social status it would afford, rather than snub him for being a pretentious prick.

Of all of the fleet, he had chosen to be her friend...Julieta wasn't sure what to make of that, but that he trusted her was enough.

Almiria had a small laugh as she recalled something amusing in particular about the topic at hand, "Father and I used to joke that one day my brother would come home from one of his long expeditions with some poor woman he met and fell in love with. The scandal of a member of the Seven Stars marrying someone poor would have been so fun for me as his sister...he wouldn't be able to laugh and make fun of me for being engaged to Macky."

To again put things into a perspective she could comprehend, Julieta tried imagining what sort of amusement she would derive from Iok suddenly marrying a peasant and seemingly disgracing his family...the mental image made her grin, since his incompetence and foolish ways has ascended mere stupidity at this point and she was having trouble getting as angry as she used to at it since it was completely expected by now and was the norm. Rustal had hinted that he would address the issue, but Julieta was fine dealing with his idiot ways awhile longer since it wasn't like they truly had a foe in their way now that McGillis was dead and Tekkadan had been crippled.

As for Gaelio returning home with a bride...Julieta had to smirk at that too. He seemed the sort to almost do it as a way of spiting the snobs he along with Julieta mocked together these past days of idleness. He didn't appear satisfied with the way the world was or how its elite were acting...he hated it, in fact, and seemed to understand why the people down below were dissatisfied as well.

On the other hand, he found the violent upheaval that was becoming the norm nowadays to be barbaric and foolish, which Julieta could understand even with her limited knowledge of politics since just changing things didn't mean they would improve. Did Edmonton not prove that by how Tekkadan's victory over Gjallarhorn didn't suddenly make everything better and in fact resulted in open warfare between economic blocs and led to an increase in the usage of child soldiers. So this kind of foolish behavior was to be quashed mercilessly...perhaps paving the way for another type of revolution and reform.

That's what she read from what Gaelio had said so far to her in some private moments, only ever making a small comment here or there without fully revealing what was on his mind much like he had while wearing the Vidar mask. It seemed that as much as he opened up when he revealed his face, he still carried some of the persona he had adopted for so long.

With this all in mind, it was little wonder that he had once been friends with McGillis, who desired radical change...Julieta wondered just how it would manifest itself, but she didn't believe for a moment that it would result in anything that would cause them to part ways. After all, if Gaelio wanted to fix things from the inside, he would have to work with Rustal Elion, right? And that would mean he would be working right alongside her, making them allies once again.

For the meantime however Julieta was assigned to be Gaelio's personal bodyguard, a task she both believed herself capable of and looked forward to. He didn't really need a bodyguard on the battlefield, so in truth she was just there to make sure he crushed whatever enemy he was going against faster than he otherwise would. It meant the chance to continue viewing his beautiful piloting skills and be around her friend, so she was grateful that Rustal had decided that Gaelio was more worthy of Julieta's services than Iok was.

Julieta returned to focusing on the present conversation after her little mental tangent to find that Almiria still looked like she was going to cry, even if she was trying to put on a brave face and hide it, "Father even thought he knew what Gaelio's bride would be like, since he said the men of our family tend to like blonde women, but also women who are strong and assertive," she sniffled and rubbed one eye again, "He says my mother was like that, always challenging him and making him think so he was always his best, though her hair was darker...she passed away and I think Father still misses her, since he doesn't share photos of her."

Gaelio's family liked blonde women generally? Julieta found such a piece of information dubious and likely near superstitious, though she could definitely understand if they had a preference for women who weren't just meek. She wouldn't want to be married to a pushover of a man after all, not that she was particularly sure just what she wanted to be married to...though, if she were to be honest, she couldn't find many reasons to object to someone like Gaelio. The only issue was that she wasn't just quite sure how she felt about him yet, even though they had been spending nights holding one another and days enjoying the other's company. She wasn't sure what the boundaries for friendship and love were, so all she knew was that he was a _very_ good friend at the moment who she enjoyed spending all of her time with.

Almiria seemed to enjoy having someone to talk to who wasn't going to speak over her or tell her what to think or anything of the sort, as the young girl was used to by the snobbish company she was often forced to keep, and so she continued to speak. She was grinning as if there were some joke to what she was saying, though it combined with her pained eyes to make for a sad expression in total, "I suppose I'm the one who likes light hair this time around. Macky has such pretty hair..." she crossed her arms and let out a breath of seeming relief, "I hope Macky comes home soon...then maybe I can brush it for him and take care of him like a wife should...I want to be like my mother was for my father..."

"Fortunately or unfortunately depending on one's perspective, McGillis has been killed in combat on Mars following the revelation that he betrayed Gjallarhorn on numerous occasions and desired to silence those who knew of his treachery."

The deadpan nature of Julieta's reveal, born of no longer wanting to have to hide every detail of the recent battle, shocked Almiria and left her eyes large like dinner plates as she tried to contemplate what she had just been told.

"Wh-what? M-Macky is..."

Wanting Almiria to get a better idea of just why this was a good thing, Julieta continued to explain, "McGillis betrayed Carta Issue and had her killed by our enemies so that he could obtain her family's political power. Then he attacked Gaelio during another battle and tried to kill him so that he could marry you and take your family's power as well."

"That...that can't be. Macky wouldn't..." Almiria shook her head as she came to be in denial as the shock of the situation set in, "You're lying...please, tell me you're..."

She looked up to see that Julieta had stood up and was suddenly leaning over to touch her on the shoulder comfortingly. Almiria shook at first when she was touched, but in her shock she slowly came to let Julieta comfort her. She had a positive opinion of this visitor so far, what with her listening to her and being a good friend of Gaelio's, so the young girl with little in the way of friends was quite willing to accept a form of comfort from a near stranger.

Julieta sat down next to Almiria and continued using her arm to comfort Almiria, this now meaning that her arm was close to her and Almiria's sides while still touching her shoulder, "I am sorry, but I thought you should know that your fiance is not coming home...nor should he, given his actions."

It was a lot for Almiria to take in, particularly at her age, but she had enough understanding of her family's position in the world and had seen enough stories and television dramas to be familiar with the concept of what McGillis did. That did not make it any easier to take learning that the man she hoped to one day grow up and marry was in fact a complete monster who sought to use her for her family power...and who had killed her brother to do it. That Gaelio had been harmed by his best friend added to the shock for Almiria, who could no longer hold back the tears she had been fighting for quite some time.

"Macky...Macky killed G..."

Julieta felt obligated to escalate the comfort she was giving, now bringing her arms around the poor crying child to comfort her like she had the girl's brother quite recently, "It's okay, Almiria...it might hurt to lose someone you cared about, but I promise things will be better, okay?"

Almiria buried herself into Julieta's side as she cried her eyes out, desperately seeking the comfort offered to her given how distraught she was, "But Gaelio...Gaelio is..."

"Hoping his sister will forgive him for being gone for so long."

Julieta looked back over the couch to see that in the room's entrance stood Gaelio, who with one hand was moving his Vidar mask as if he had just taken it off. He must have only been wearing it briefly as his hair remained mostly untouched, and Julieta guessed that he had just used it to get inside without the servants having heart attacks about how their young master had returned from the dead. Julieta had not heard the main doors open, so he must have entered some way unknown to her as a newcomer there...

None of that was of importance to Almiria, whose shock shifted from grief to absolute surprise at the sound of Gaelio's voice.

"Gaelio!?"

She shot up from where she was sitting to jump over the couch and tackle-hug her brother where he stood, her eyes still unleashing the tears welled up within them but her emotions swinging quite severely from what they had been, "You're alive!"

Gaelio hugged his sister back once he absorbed the impact of her sudden tackle, smiling down at Almiria as he lifted the petite girl up and held her close, "It's good to see you too, Almiria. I'm sorry I've been gone so long. I..."

"Gaelio..."

Even though it hadn't been said to her, Almiria was able to piece something together from what she _had_ been told...

"Gaelio, did you kill Macky? Did you make him pay for what he did? Was he the one who hurt you?"

Her voice wasn't one of anger...no, Gaelio was actually slightly surprised by the conviction he instead heard in it. Here was her brother who she had been told died by none other than McGillis himself, and so she could believe just about anything now. If Gaelio said it was true that McGillis betrayed both of them and wanted to hurt them, be it by killing Gaelio or by manipulating her, Almiria would believe it.

Gaelio nodded to his sister slowly, "Yes..." his eyes looked away as he feared how Almiria might respond to knowing that he had killed her fiance, "And yes, I was the one who..."

Almiria subverted his expectation to a degree by growing angry, just not at him. On her normally cute face she came to pout angrily, "He hurt you...He told me bad people took you away from me, but he did it all along. He said he would make them pay, but..."

Pounding a fist against Gaelio's shoulder, Almiria soon buried her face into her brother and began to sob in a way befitting of her age.

"McGillis was just like all the others! I thought he loved me, but he only loved our money! I hate him, Gaelio! I hate him!"

Gaelio brought a hand up to the back of her beck and head to try and help soothe her, his voice both kind yet strong as he spoke back, "Almiria, I won't let anyone hurt you again. I promise you that as your brother..."

Guilt over his distance from her all this time made Gaelio almost too ashamed to face Almiria, but with her embrace he found his courage returning. All this time he had feared his inevitable return to his family, but now that he had achieved his goals it was time...time to come home, and time to find just where his sights should be set. The many days he had to travel and do nothing but enjoy Julieta's company gave him time to think, and he had come to a great many decisions by his return to Earth.

Of them, being the best brother he could for his poor sister was near the top, as was making her a future where she could live happily without suffering in the way she was now.

"I love you Gaelio."

Hearing her say that made Gaelio feel as if much of the weight on his shoulders had been lifted in one fell swoop, "I love you too Almiria."

The two siblings could have stood there in one another's embrace for quite some time without saying anything at all, if not for the sudden noise of Julieta spitting up hot tea and coughing.

Gaelio looked down to where Julieta was sitting, Almiria turning in his arms to do the same while her brother inquired about his friend's health, "Are you okay?"

Julieta had not wanted to interrupt their moment by interjecting in the family reunion, and so she settled on drinking the tea provided for her earlier in the meantime. Unfortunately, it was scorching hot when it first arrived and was still quite hot by the time Julieta brought it to her mouth since only a couple minutes had passed, so her mouth felt as if it was set aflame when she tried to drink the small cup all at once like she liked doing with smaller things.

"I am not used to drinking tea," Julieta admitted through a blush, not able to look either of the others in the eye given her current embarrassment. They must think her a monkey like Iok did for not being able to even drink tea properly...

Her blush deepened when Gaelio indeed laughed, though it wasn't malicious: he sounded like he was actually quite amused in a positive fashion, and he was grinning brightly.

"Almiria, I take it you have met Julieta?"

Almiria nodded to him and tried to smile as well as her tears began to dry up, the accidental break in the last conversation allowing her to begin resting her emotions. She still had a million questions she wanted to ask, but Almiria wanted to share a fun moment with her brother right now and so she giggled at Julieta's funny mistake too.

Looking at Julieta from above though gave Almiria full view of the woman's short blonde hair...and seeing Gaelio's seeming ease around her, and Julieta's claims about them being close...Almiria almost gasped as she gaped at her brother.

"Is she your girlfriend, Gaelio?"

Their father was right!

...maybe?

Gaelio gaped back at his sister's sudden question concerning his relationship status, leaving Julieta to pick up the verbal slack with a small, "I..."

Almiria's brother recovered fast enough to pick right up after her with a smirk and clever response to Almiria's question, "She is a friend who happens to be a girl, yes."

Her thought shot down, Almiria lowered her gaze shamefully, "Oh, okay..."

So they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend...that made Almiria a little sad since she had wanted her brother to settle down for quite a long time and it would have been amazing to both get him back and to have him romantically involved with someone at the same time. If he dated someone, Almiria might get a sister-like figure, something she wished she had since without her mother she was sorely lacking a female role model or confidant.

Still, Gaelio and Julieta not dating yet didn't mean that they never were going to...and so the young child decided to ask quite the personal question.

"Did you want her to be? She's nice, and she really likes you, so..."

Almiria was asking out of her own desire to have her brother have a lover, but she did not actually know just how close she was in her assumption. Gaelio indeed had deep feelings for Julieta stemming from the months of time they had spent together, particularly the days of recent where she knew of his actual identity and had stood by him the entire way to support him in this time of great emotional need.

Given Julieta's normally unflappable attitude and lack of understanding for common social interactions and related matters, Gaelio had not actually tried to advance their relationship just yet, but he had his plans all the same. Plans he would really appreciate if Almiria didn't ruin by accident.

Fortunately for Gaelio, Julieta did not appear offended by the idea whatsoever and in fact seemed intrigued by it as she turned around on the couch to face them both, leaning her upper body on its top, "What is being a girlfriend like?"

Gaelio glared down at Almiria as his dear sister began to explain the concept, this serving as a nice diversion for the heartbreaking news she had received and wanted to repress as fast as possible, "Well, a girlfriend spends time with her boyfriend a lot and they do things together and love eachother. And then, when they think they love eachother enough they get engaged and get married."

By those parameters, Julieta knew she and Gaelio were well beyond normal standards for a boyfriend-girlfriend couple...something she revealed to Gaelio by giving him a smug look while inquiring even further.

"How much time do they spend together? And what sorts of things do they do together?"

Gaelio avoided Julieta's eyes as he sought to be anywhere but where he was at the moment. If he knew coming home would mean Almiria and Julieta ganging up on him he would still be on the ship...

"Well, they usually are around eachother as much as possible, and they do whatever makes them both happy like hobbies or watching movies, and then they also eat together for their meals and maybe even sleep next to eachother."

Even though she wasn't sure she even wanted the label, Julieta kept having her fun at Gaelio's expense by revealing to Almiria just how close they were, "Gaelio and I spend most of our time together, and we do all of our hobbies with one another _._ We also eat each meal with one another and sleep each night together."

This was the final evidence needed for Almiria to throw her arms around her brother's neck and laugh at him, "Gaelio, you have a girlfriend!"

Gaelio continued to look away from them, since he knew Julieta was just messing with him and he knew just how eager Almiria was for him to fulfill his duty to the family, "Julieta and I have not been on any dates, nor have we proclaimed our love for one another, so right now, Almiria, we are good friends."

While Julieta might be joking, she was saying it all without actual jest...so was she making fun of him for not calling her his girlfriend because she actually would like to be considered that now, or not? He had a good feeling that she returned his affections, but was this proof of them or the opposite?

Almiria retracted her arms to cross them and pout, "That's not nice big brother. Tell miss Julieta you love her."

Julieta blushed as she saw Gaelio pause, as if he didn't know just what to say back to that. Was he actually...

She shook her head. They were coworkers, boss and subordinate now, so they couldn't...

Julieta felt a whisper in her mind that told her that they didn't always have to be like that...that if she wanted, she could just go back to serving Rustal and still have her Gaelio...still have the kind man she enjoyed waking up to each morning, whose warmth now was a staple in her sleep.

Fortunately she was swept from her unprofessional thoughts by the entrance of yet another, a man of medium height and greying periwinkle hair, "Miss Juris, is there anything I can help you with?"

Gallus Bauduin had entered the room from a side entrance and so he had not yet seen Gaelio or Almiria who stood a bit across the room from where she sat, Gallus' eyes tied to some paperwork he had been handed to deal with by his servants on the way to the living room.

Almiria broke his attention to these documents with her energetic leap from Gaelio's arms to run over to her father, "Daddy, daddy! Gaelio's back!"

"Almiria-" her father began to chastise her silly assertion that her brother was back and alive when his eyes lifted and actually say him standing right there, "Gaelio..."

Gaelio cracked a grin at his father's surprise, "Hello, Father."

Almiria hugged her father tightly as her face nestled into his side, the young girl summarizing what happened in her own way, "He beat Macky up for trying to kill him and for trying to marry me for bad reasons. Gaelio's a hero, daddy!"

"Gaelio, my son..."

Gallus was stunned to say the least to find that his firstborn child was alive, mixed with the fact that he apparently was one of the ones who caused McGillis' death Gallus had just recently been informed of and was thinking of how to tell Almiria, and that McGillis had in fact been the one to have caused everything to begin with. As he tried to think of what to say upon obtaining this information, Gaelio spoke instead with an apology.

"I am sorry I took so long to return. There was a lot I had to take care of before I could come back to all of this."

That seemed about right, Gallus presumed given what information he had just been fed in an abridged format. He gestured to where he had come from for Gaelio to come with him, for Gallus did not wish to have the conversation he intended to have while others were present.

"Almiria, your brother and I need to speak. Would you entertain our guest in the meantime?"

"Yes, Father," Almiria chirped as she rushed over to join Julieta, while Gaelio moved to take her place at their father's side. On his way, he leant by Julieta and whispered in her ear.

"Wish me luck."

On his way out Julieta called after him instead with a different kind of wish in a hushed tone.

"I wish you sense."

Julieta was worried how Gaelio's conversation with Gallus might go, so she wished him not something as silly as luck but rather something he should focus on: sense. He needed to explain to his father everything and not lose his head in the tempest of emotions he must feel about all of this...

When they left, Julieta added to her wish however.

"Good luck..."

* * *

"I heard about what happened on Mars. Was that your doing?"

Now in his father's study, Gaelio took a seat on one of the chairs the room provided just as the door shut behind them. Gallus moved to go sit in his own chair, his face stolid as he thought about just what this all meant.

"Yes. At Edmonton I was attacked by McGillis while I was battling Tekkadan. McGillis revealed to me that he had engineered Carta Issue's death, and then told me of his intentions to kill me and marry Almiria."

Gallus felt the color drain from his face at hearing his would-be son-in-law, a boy he had watched grow up alongside his very own son and had treated with respect and kindness for many years despite the boy's background, had done such a terrible act. When it was said aloud though, pieces started falling into Gallus' mind which confirmed the statement. Where _had_ McGillis been at Edmonton? Why was it that the mobile suit which defeated the Kimaris was recently found being used by Isurugi, Fareed's subordinate? Why had every single thing turned in McGillis' favor all at one moment, gaining a windfall of power at the expense of his father while the other families of the Seven Stars suffered greatly?

Seeing on his father's pensive face that he was beginning to understand, Gaelio continued on with his explanation for what had happened, "I survived due to his carelessness, and Rustal Elion took me in. Since then, I have been helping him against McGillis, waiting for the opportunity to repay him for what he had done."

Now all of the pieces made sense to Gallus...but that did not mean that everything was fine and settled in his mind. He still had his questions and thoughts he wanted to bring up with Gaelio now.

"If you had come home and told us of this we could have handled this with diplomacy rather than bloodshed. I'm sure there was evidence we could have used to ensnare that snake, and at the very least I would have broken his engagement with your sister."

"I know that, and I know things might have worked better if I had just come home, but what if I showed my face and we couldn't convict him of his crimes? What if he manipulated those proceedings like he manipulated everything else he dealt with?" Gaelio explained his course of action, admitting the fault present but also seeming to believe that it was the correct decision, "So I bided my time, and in the end I forced the truth out of him in battle. I have a recording of the encounter, in which he admits to his ambitions, and I have Julieta's testimony concerning the battle as well."

A recording of McGillis from the battle? Gallus was impressed that Gaelio had thought ahead and prepared for such evidence, since it could mean a great deal when there was a formal hearing on the matter. The death of a member of the Seven Stars was a high profile issue whether it was a simple matter such as illness or if it was more complex such as this battle...which, if looked at through a certain lens, could be considered murder.

Still, if McGillis was on tape admitting to his crimes, and there was the testimony of another who had been there during it, then this could all be resolved with time...not easily, but it could still be dealt with. If McGillis was a traitor who was conspiring with their enemy it was no longer an attack on a member of the Seven Stars but rather upon an enemy combatant.

"Good. When this is investigated that will come in handy," Gallus let out a breathe of relief, during which time he came to realize something else, something he felt ashamed for and for which he hung his head in said shame, "I am sorry, my son. These past months I have looked after McGillis, thinking him your friend and a future member of our family...if I had known..."

"I understand," Gaelio replied with some terseness, wanting to be angry that others did not see through McGillis' deception but being unable to thanks to how he had been one of its primary victims. Still, the news concerning McGillis was not all that he had come to speak of with his father, "His death was not all that happened on Mars."

"Yes, I hear you defeated a Mobile Armor. To think that you not only would come home having ousted a traitor, but with an Order..." Gallus had stood up when Gaelio brought mention to the other event on Mars, and after moving over to where Gaelio was he put a firm hand down on his shoulder as he wore a prideful smile, "I am proud of you, Gaelio."

To his father's surprise Gaelio shook his head no, "In truth, Julieta was the one to finish it. She deserves the honor and the Order."

"Gaelio, now think. If you allow her to take it, then that will only help the Elion family," he narrowed his eyes at his son with some apprehension, as if he wasn't making sense, "Now, I have heard rumors concerning this Julieta Juris after I received news of her part in the Mars conflict. Rumors that she and Rustal Elion's mysterious ally Vidar are romantically involved."

To this, Gaelio said nothing, and in saying nothing he said a great deal to his father.

Still, to hear it from Gaelio's own mouth, Gallus pressed him on the issue, "Is there truth to this?"

"These past months she is all I have had."

All he had possessed was his anger...his wish to exact vengeance upon McGillis for what he had done to Carta, for what he had done to Ein...for what he had done to him. In this sea of rage, he had but a single island of normalcy in the form of the woman who constantly sought him out to talk to him. Someone who reminded him of his close friend Ein in her loyalty and desires, someone who had reminded him of Carta in her attitude which was constantly pushing him.

Had he not had her, Gaelio believed he may have slipped into insanity and despair following his revenge. He had but one thing on his mind before, but she gave him a glimpse at the things and people he cared for again.

Gallus could see on his son's face where his heart lay, making what he had to say next all the harder since he honestly wished to support his son's desires, just not when it came at the expense of their family, "Whatever your feelings may be towards this woman, romantic or platonic as they may be, do remember that you are a representative of the Bauduin family. So I ask of you, do not let this Order slip by. I do not want it to bolster Rustal Elion's power. He already has the support of the Kujan family, he does not need more political power."

"I had another idea, Father. One where neither Rustal or I gain the Order."

Gallus blinked, "If not you, or Rustal, then..."

 _Julieta_ had obtained it he realized, having just automatically done as others would have and assumed an Order by her meant an Order for Rustal...but that was not how Orders were obtained back at the founding of Gjallarhorn, at least not in any official records. No, an Order was obtained by being the one to defeat a Mobile Armor. While it had been hundreds of years, she had done exactly what had made the original Seven Stars what they were...she had the same right as any of their families did now of sitting at the table and leading Gjallarhorn, even if her single Order would have a lower weight than those of the other established families.

Realizing Gaelio's seeming plan, Gallus spoke to confirm this as well, "You would have a new House established? A House with a single Order to its name, but a seat at the table nonetheless?"

Gaelio grinned, his eyes closed as he thought to himself, "Yes, that is exactly what I was thinking."

"I have not contemplated the matter before, but there must be rules against such a thing...a new House for the first time in hundreds of years..."

"I would like your help in making it happen," Gaelio stated plainly, though the weight his voice carried made it feel like a command rather than a simple statement of requiring and wanting aid in some matter.

Having been a politician for decades, Gallus was not about to enter into such murky waters without some light at the end of the tunnel, "And what would we have to gain from this?"

Gallus would soon come to realize that all the time Gaelio had to think on the way back from Mars had been put to good use. It was now that Gaelio unveiled his larger plan, only one piece of which was the Order.

"Julieta is loyal to Rustal, who is like a father to her. I too have some fondness for the man after the grace he has shown me in taking down McGillis," Gaelio shook his head slowly as he grinned still, "But I have no loyalty to him. And I would like to see his premier pilot removed from his toolkit. Make her a political entity, and she can no longer just be a part of Rustal's family, but rather one of her own."

Given that Julieta would be the only member of her 'family', she would be forced to attend to Gjallarhorn business in-person until she arranged for a stand-in of sorts. Not only that, she would be required to be there in-person for particularly important matters that wouldn't allow for someone to substitute for her, meaning that she would have to possess a role more like what McGillis or Carta had rather than be a frontline combatant as she presently was. This would mean that Rustal could not wield his powerful sledgehammer that was Julieta against any and all enemies, and it meant that her own allegiances and goals would begin to drift from just having to do with Rustal's. Even if she still wished to serve him how she wanted, her ability to do so in any direct manner would be drastically reduced.

"Meanwhile, we keep our position quite neutral in Gjallarhorn matters. Rustal is a sign of the corruption in Gjallarhorn, one of those who would see it not change and remain as it is," Gaelio continued to explain his plan while revealing his true feelings on the current order, "McGillis was right about one thing, Gjallarhorn is in need of reform. His methods were sloppy and short-sighted, but the general principle was correct."

Gallus nodded his head, having been the one to teach Gaelio many of the morals and beliefs that would one day culminate in his distaste for Gjallarhorn's present status. While perhaps he was less radical, he could fully support his son in wanting to enact change from within the organization.

"The Kujan family will more likely than not lose its heir in the coming years due to his foolishness. Their family won't recover from his loss, and their power won't go to Rustal upon Iok's passing, removing their power from the table entirely," Gaelio explained, having come to despise as well as count on Iok's complete stupidity that would one day cost him particularly now that neither Julieta nor Gaelio were going to be there to clean up his messes.

"When the dust clears with this Fareed matter, we should make sure we have taken their power for our own by using the relationship he had with Almiria and his family's lack of suitable heir. In compensation for his murder plot and attempt to steal our power, I believe we deserve what he tried taking from us, Order for Order."

Gallus agreed that reparations for the actions of the Fareed family were a must, since they had betrayed Gjallarhorn not only through the scheming of McGillis' father but through the horrific actions taken by McGillis himself. To take in the power of the Fareed family though...that would bolster the Bauduin family's standing to be at the top of Gjallarhorn.

"The Issue family's power will be left unchained to any family with their lack of heir, leaving it essentially extinct like the Kujan family."

An intriguing situation it would be, Gallus thought, to have two families go extinct while another would be created...the power vacuum would favor them, if all went according to plan, but Gaelio's position of staying neutral would have it so that Rustal would still be the one calling the shots. This would result in Rustal not feeling threatened as much by the Bauduin's power, since they would be essentially a nonentity which just observed, while working as Gaelio intended to fix things within Gjallarhorn. When the time called for it they could use their considerable political power to force through more significant changes, but for the time being the Bauduins would likely do best laying low and not drawing ire towards themselves given that their heir slew one of another family, even if that man was a traitor.

"Others will want in on our power as we come to be one of the leading families of the Seven Stars, or at least what they perceive to be an in on our power. Of these, only Rustal Elion currently stands as a political rival, and given our seeming agreement with his policies by not taking direct action against him he will feel comfortable with us as his ally," Gaelio looked up at his father, "He will want to keep an eye on us however to ensure our continued loyalty. Someone he trusts of course."

"Should Julieta Juris have an Order of the Seven...no, Eight Stars, she would be a prospective wife of many..." Gallus smiled to himself as he realized that even this fell into his overall plan, "Rustal would think that a single Order would be a way of buying our loyalty, giving us a bone to chew on while she serves as his eyes and ears on our family. He would support you, her close friend, marrying her for the inside access it would grant to our family, this near adopted daughter of his."

Gaelio nodded, glad his father understood him, "Julieta is loyal and dedicated, but if I can bring her to the point where she would side with our family over his, we would gain an Order while also fooling Rustal into thinking us his passive allies who he has control over."

"With your plan, we would become _the_ essential powerhouse behind Gjallarhorn...impressive, Gaelio, but I must ask: to what end?"

"I wish to reform Gjallarhorn, and I understand that it will not happen overnight. While McGillis would betray and kill others to gain his power, I am content with making allies of my enemies. Let Rustal think that things are remaining the same, as he wants, while working within Gjallarhorn to change it step by step. Focus on recruiting people of principle, reform our training agencies so as to not lose their character, root out corruption where it remains..." Gaelio closed his eyes again as he looked down, "Improve it all one step at a time."

"This is what you would have our family do?"

It was a serious question, one which Gallus thought was important. If they were going to commit to this, it would be a major and important undertaking, so he had to know that Gaelio was serious both about his own part in this as well as his family's.

"Yes, and I would like to ask for your help."

Gallus smirked down to his son again, giving him a supportive nod as he came to accept this forecast for the future and the general idea of how they would carry themselves in the years to come, "If you believe this to be our future, you have my full support."

He did have a condition though.

As Gaelio stood up to face his father, Gallus smirked at his son with some amusement, "However, Gaelio, I would like to get to know this Julieta Juris before I give my blessing."

"Of course," Gaelio assured as his father placed his hands on his shoulders, having to reach up somewhat to reach Gaelio's shoulders since Gallus was only of average height while the men of his late wife's family all were tall and muscular like Gaelio was.

"Gaelio, for years I have hoped you would take a bride. Every time you received a marriage offering I prayed you would take it, but eventually I came to realize my son was not just going to let others decide his heart's place for him."

Gallus let out a hearty laugh as he continued on as he saw some embarrassment creep up on his son's face, "From what I hear of Rustal's subordinate, she is quite willful and disrespectful towards Iok Kujan while wholly obedient towards Rustal. Can you weather a sharp tongue at your side?"

Gaelio blushed at his father's question, finally coming to admit that he wished to spend his life now with the woman whose mouth knew no censor, "Her spirited nature is one of the things I enjoy about her, rather than one of the things I hold against her. She shows respect where it is due and not an ounce more.

"I look forward to speaking with her then. I may just see the spirit of your mother in her. While she was my biggest supporter and the love of my life, she never spared me my due criticism..." Gallus' expression softened as he began to regret perhaps some of his own past mistakes, "I sometimes wonder if I would be the same, if things would be the same if she were still here. She inspired in me such passion and drive, drive which I have found lacking since..."

While he was easy-going and often played the role of peacemaker in Gjallarhorn's chambers, his wife had been a spitfire like Julieta sounded like. He wondered if she were alive if she would have rooted out the insincere McGillis before he ever became the rotten apple he became...and if she had been around, would he have become so complicit in the sort of behavior in Gjallarhorn he taught his children to abhor?

Gaelio needed that sort of wife by his side, his father decided, if he was going to embark on this journey. He needed to have that center, that support each step of the way while also having the voice to question him when needed.

"If you have found that feeling in this woman, there is no-one better to help you accomplish your aspirations."

Gallus reached out and brought his son into a hug, one which Gaelio returned softly as the two rekindled their bond after so long apart.

"Now, if you are going to ask her to marry you, I might have something for you..."

* * *

 **A/N: Fun fact, I have another Gundam story for those of you out there who enjoy Gundam content. The name is "All Hail Zeon", and it's about Gaelio's UC Gundam counterpart Garma Zabi and his family and allies, so if you like Gaelio, you'll probably like Garma as well. Love to have you join me over there as well should Universal Century Gundam be your thing, but if not I am always grateful for your readership here.**

 **Thank you to LockmanCapulet, Angel-no-Crux, Spirit of Justice, Kaiser Chris, Kias, and a guest for your reviews last chapter, for they were very much appreciated and I hope to continue hearing from you in the chapters to come!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed, and any thoughts you have would be most appreciated in the reviews below!**


	7. Love

"I hope they get back soon."

Julieta snapped out of her 'daydreaming', truly just wondering how her Master was doing and wondering what she should be doing in a residential home such as this, to see that Almiria appeared anxious. Not only that, the young girl seemed to possess a sad affect, likely born of the emotional turmoil now going through her thanks to learning of McGillis' true nature.

Since she was not trained in handling emotionally distraught children, Julieta decided to just respond to the question at hand rather than possibly make things worse, "They have a lot of important things to talk about."

Dusk was starting to fall, but inside the mansion everything was still lit thanks to the many lights and chandeliers hanging within its walls. The darkness still left a certain aura thanks to the windows letting its atmosphere creep inside, one which left the distraught Almiria with perhaps a less personable attitude than if it had been shining brightly outside. The light of her life, McGillis Fareed, had been revealed to have been a man who intended to eclipse her family's happiness much as the sun was fading from sight now.

In this manner, she was quiet and took a full minute to speak to Julieta again as they sat in the living room, "What do you do for Gjallarhorn?"

The silence had not bothered Julieta in the slightest given that she was used to being on her own or being in professional atmospheres where she did not have idle chatter, at least until she began to befriend Gaelio months before. A process she supposed would both make her job now more enjoyable and also more difficult, since how could she dedicate her full attention to guarding him when she would want to be speaking to him?

"I serve Rustal Elion and perform whatever duties he assigns me. Currently, my assignment is to protect Gaelio Bauduin against any threats that may present themselves."

This piqued Almiria's interest and drew her out of her shell as it brought to mind many books she had read and movies she had watched before, some even with Gaelio, "So you're his bodyguard?"

Julieta nodded once, not understanding why Almiria's eyes were brightening. Was she happy that her brother would be protected?

"Why?"

Almiria blushed as she realized that this straightforward friend of Gaelio's with piercing eyes could likely see through any lie she could spin, so Almiria came clean with where her mind had gone on the subject, "In some of the stories I read, the bodyguard-knights fall in love with their princesses and they live happily ever after."

The comparison fell flat due to Julieta taking it seriously and giving Almiria a baffled look, "Gaelio is not a princess and I do not fancy one."

That the details were not exact did not matter to the pre-teen girl, only that the type of love story she had read and seen a hundred times could very well play out before her, providing a welcome distraction for her mind away from her own failed romance, "It's close enough," Almiria sank in her seat as she realized how childish she must seem to Julieta now, "I just want my big brother to be happy."

It took a moment, but the response she got surprised the heiress.

"I want him to be happy too."

Almiria looked up and saw that Julieta had her eyes averted, as if she was embarrassed by what she had said. In truth, it had scared Julieta to realize that the thought of her friend being happy made her happy as well, for while she supposed it made her a good friend to value his well being it also demonstrated to her just how much she truly did care for Gaelio.

It had only been a few minutes, but she already felt that she missed him. On her mind was the question of just what the Bauduins were discussing, and if Gaelio was okay, since he had killed the former man chosen to marry into their family.

Looking across from her, Julieta realized that Gaelio wasn't the only one who was going to be facing consequences now. Almiria no longer had her fiance and if her crestfallen expression accurately showed her emotional status she was suffering too.

"Are you okay?"

Almiria was trying not to cry as she remembered how nicely she had been treated by what she now knew to be a terrible man, "My future husband is dead and tried killing my brother."

"I'm sorry," Julieta responded, though she did not know what else to say after it. She could see Almiria softly sobbing now though, the heiress' facade having cracked and revealed the hurt young girl beneath.

"I wanted to grow up and be the best wife I could be for him because of how well Macky treated me," Almiria sobbed as she bereaved her crushed hopes and dreams, "He was the only friend I had, and now he's gone."

"I lost someone I cared about recently too," Julieta empathized with her, thinking of how distraught she had been when she had been told Galan Mossa had died, "Tekkadan, the same people who McGillis was working with, killed someone who was like an uncle to me...maybe even like a father."

Almiria wiped an eye as she listened to Julieta, her young mind placing Tekkadan firmly in the realm of the 'enemy' while those who fought them and protected her family as 'good', "I don't really know about them, but they must be evil people if they hurt your family. You're a good person, you protect my brother."

Julieta did not know how to take that compliment, but she did agree that Tekkadan were vile. If she was not mistaken, they were tied into the mafia and were fine with breaking whatever laws they saw fit to benefit their own purposes. Immoral children floundering about and lashing out whenever necessary.

Looking up after this small contemplation, Julieta saw that Almiria had gotten up and was crossing the short distance between them. Eyes still watery and red, Almiria was holding back her crying while still possessing a pouting expression.

"Can I..."

Julieta took a moment to realize that Almiria was asking for permission to hug her. Not seeing a reason to really turn her down, Julieta allowed Almiria to sit down on her lap and curl up into her. It seemed that she wanted comfort and all she had to give it now was Almiria since the rest of her family was out of the room and McGillis was gone.

It seemed that, much like Julieta, Almiria was a lonely person. Like Gaelio had become.

Almiria had made herself comfortable and Julieta brought her arms around her friend's sister to match the arms now put around her own body. She could feel wet tears soak her uniform, but Julieta didn't really care since she understood that this child was emotional at the moment and needed time just as she had.

After her tears had run for another half minute and she had felt the warmth of Julieta's body, Almiria gathered herself enough to continue venting her feelings, "Now I'll never get married," after all, who would marry the former fiance of a murderer? Almiria not only felt betrayed, she felt tarnished and her tenuous reputation ruined, "Everyone already hated me, and now they're all going to make fun of me."

"Then they are idiots. Don't concern yourself with the opinion of fools."

Julieta's terse response caught Almiria off-guard, since it breached any understanding she had of the world of the nobility. Just ignore them? Unlike Almiria, Julieta had not been raised to possess a certain tolerance or respect for those with rank except for Galan Mossa himself. She could follow orders, but as she demonstrated with Iok if someone did not deserve her respect she did not grant it to them.

"But..."

Julieta looked down at Almiria as the girl looked up to her questioningly, "Who doesn't like you, the other rich people around your family?" Almiria nodded, having been mocked by other women for years for being so young yet engaged to McGillis, who they wanted for themselves, and by men who saw her as nothing but a little girl marrying a bastard child of the Fareed family, "Why do they matter?"

Almiria had no true response to that, not aware of all the intricacies of politics like her father did. She just knew that minding their opinions was what she was told to do and that she was supposed to treat them well, even if they didn't return the favor.

"If they look down on you for no reason of your own fault, and they don't have relevance to your life, you should not worry about them."

That was how Julieta lived up until then, and she didn't foresee that changing anytime soon. Little did she know that in another room in the house a discussion was being had of her status changing quite severely, and thus she would have to perhaps adapt to a more Almiria-like perspective.

"Father says I have to be nice to them, since it is what is expected of a lady."

Julieta turned her nose up at that, "If being nice to idiots is part of being a lady, I do not wish to be a lady."

"But if you and Gaelio get married you would be a lady."

Julieta tilted her head, still confused by Almiria's insistence, not understanding the mind of a young girl who instead of growing up on mobile suit manuals and combat doctrines grew up with fairy tale romances, "What makes you think that we..."

"Gaelio never brings women home with him, but he brought you here. The only girl he's ever been around was Miss Carta, and she passed away," Almiria explained her opinion towards Julieta and why she thought that it was so obvious Gaelio liked Julieta romantically, "So you must be really special to him if he wanted you to be with him."

That stopped Julieta in her tracks. Gaelio...he was so particular about who he brought home with him? If she was the only woman other than Carta Issue, his close childhood friend, who he ever brought home, then that would imply that he truly did value her as a close friend.

Julieta looked up as she contemplated that. They slept now in the same bed, worked together and engaged in pastime activities and meals with one another, and now he had essentially invited her over to meet his family.

Did Gaelio love her like Almiria was suggesting? It certainly would make sense given the circumstances, but...

Julieta blushed. If Gaelio liked her, then what should she do? Galan had never really confronted this issue, of how to properly deal with receiving affection from possible romantic interests.

"Is he special to you?"

That drove Julieta's blush to go deeper as Almiria's innocent question made her actually question that for herself.

Unsure about it herself, Julieta began to speak out loud, "Most consider me abnormal, and I've been called a monkey more than a few times," she sighed and as she let out the breath she came to have a smile, "Gaelio doesn't mind that I sometimes climb up on things. He may joke about it, but he doesn't mind that I eat...oddly."

In fact, Gaelio was seemingly unique in his own way too. He went around wearing a mask for months and months, he enjoyed playing with the notion of who he was with Julieta, he spoke to his mobile suit like it was alive, sometimes said odd things or did something as odd as buy a coworker something for them to do as a hobby since they did not possess one.

Concerning affection and Gaelio, there was something that had been bugging Julieta for some days now and that had only grown worse in the time since it began.

"Is it normal to dream about a friend?"

The odd question caught Almiria by surprise, but she managed to recover well enough despite the blush it brought to her face and the now sad memories it arose, "I don't know, but sometimes I used to dream of Macky..." Almiria asked the obvious question to follow up from Julieta's own, "Do you dream of Gaelio?"

Julieta was not much of a dreamer and rarely ever remembered them, but she had remembered having some kind of dream about Gaelio a few nights back...and another a night or two later...and another...

It was to her a sign that perhaps Rustal's question on whether she loved Gaelio or not may hold water, but she also rationalized that perhaps it just was because they had been spending entire days together and so he was on her mind when she went to bed.

"Recently, yes."

The subject matter took a slight tangential turn as Almiria's mind focused on some of what she had just spoken of, specifically how she used to dream of McGillis when she thought of him as her Prince Charming. She crossed her arms and huffed, "I hope I stop dreaming of Macky. He's a mean person and I'm glad I won't see him again."

Even to Julieta it was obvious that Almiria wasn't speaking entirely the entire truth of her emotions, "That's not how you truly feel."

The declaration that she was lying again challenged Almiria, who was unused to anyone except her father and brother daring to do so. It was not unwelcome, it just was a new experience for her and one that left her confused, "Huh?"

"You loved him for what he did for you, but now that you know more about him you are conflicted."

Julieta's bluntness continued to surprise Almiria, and while at first she had a brief breathe of anger swell up as she thought Julieta was daring to suggest she still cared for McGillis, Almiria soon realized that she did actually still have unresolved feelings on him and that anger turned inwards as she chastised herself. After all, how could she still have any fond memories of such a horrible man? It made her feel like a traitor towards her family to not be able to just instantly hate McGillis as much as she tried to.

"It is alright to hate him. Just make sure you do not lie to yourself when you do so," Julieta explained, "While not the same, I needed to realize I missed someone when they passed away to properly move on."

Being told that it was okay to feel conflicted calmed Almiria down and she resumed being curled up into Julieta, where the blonde pilot moved a hand to touch Almiria's periwinkle hair and stroked it to try and comfort her in a way she had seen from Galan Mossa before.

"I am sorry he was not the man you believed him to be."

Almiria wrapped her arms around Julieta again and gripped her uniform with her small fists, her distraught feelings flowing out now again through her teary eyes.

"How could Macky...why..."

Not seeming to understand the possibly rhetorical nature of Almiria's anguished question, Julieta answered it directly, "He wanted to lead a coup against Gjallarhorn and to forcibly change it with his political power he would take from his father, Carta Issue, and your family," seeing that Almiria seemed a bit confused, Julieta decided to explain what she thought to be the problem, "A coup is when one tries to take something over."

Almiria nodded before lowering her head back down into Julieta.

"Macky said he would make the world a better place for me. For us..."

"The world already is a better place for you," Julieta replied flatly before explaining herself, "Not only will you not be marrying a man who sought to use you, but you are one of the wealthiest women alive. What you make of this world is what you will get out of it, since you can do almost anything you want to."

Thinking herself to be nothing more than a child in a world of adults, Almiria had not considered her own potential or aspirations and her ability to achieve them. It seemed that the whole world was off doing everything that could and would be done, and she was just left as a spectator on the sidelines due to her age.

"But..."

Julieta did not give Almiria a chance to offer a weak rebuttal, "At your age I already was training to accomplish my own goals, so there is no reason you cannot. Your brother lost everything, but that has not stopped him from doing what he believes he must and accomplishing what he sought to."

She wouldn't let Gaelio's sister be weak and meek in the face of her life's adversity now that McGillis, her shield from it, was gone. Julieta decided then that, if she was able, she would make sure that this other girl lived up to whatever potential she possessed, as it would simply not do to watch a member of her friend's family waste away under the weight of their familial burden.

"If Gaelio can be strong, so can you."

Almiria nodded confidently, agreeing with Julieta and now wanting to prove her correct, but after a moment she came to sigh upon realizing that unlike Julieta she did not possess any real goal presently to pursue, "I don't know what I want to do...I only know my role as a lady, that is what I have to do, but..."

The heiress stopped as she looked up at Julieta and smiled, giggling a moment later as she realized something.

Julieta did not know what was so amusing that it could cause a change in mood, so she looked quizzically down at Almiria, "What's funny?"

"I think I know why my big brother likes you."

Why Gaelio...

"Huh?"

Almiria nodded, "You don't hold anything back," "Everyone is always so mean to me because they think I'm a kid, but you treat me like an adult. Not just some kid who is in your way."

The girl looked away and blushed, now feeling self-conscious about her own insecurities.

"Thank you."

A moment later she received an odd response, this coming in the form of a rumbling stomach.

It seemed that Julieta had not eaten since before she arrived, and it took some time to travel there so now as the day came to a close she was actually quite hungry without having realized it until her body reminded her. She was used to ignoring hunger or thirst for hours until she could acquire it thanks to her upbringing as a soldier, and now that it was readily available her body had not yet adjusted to that.

"Are you hungry, Miss Julieta?"

Julieta sheepishly agreed, and she soon found herself eating food which was prepared by the family's servants with a bit of help from Almiria. She had requested meat, and when given vinison she wasn't displeased.

After eating, Julieta and Almiria were met by Gaelio and his father in the dining room.

Gallus politely bowed to their guest, "Miss Juris, I have to thank you for helping my son. If there is anything I can ever do for you, you need only ask."

Julieta returned the bow, not wanting to appear rude, "Thank you, Lord Bauduin."

"I am afraid it is getting late or I would like to take the chance to speak with you. You are welcome to stay here for as long as you wish, and I can have a room prepared for you should you wish to stay the night."

"A room is unnecessary. I do not wish to make your servants go out of their way for something I do not need," Julieta deadpanned. While she did not explicitly state it just yet, Almiria and Gallus both picked up on one possible meaning of what she said right away.

Almiria scoffed at her brother and put her hands on her hips, "Because you and Gaelio share a bed? Brother, how scandalous!"

Gaelio attempted damage control and scoffed right back at his sister, "You have quite the imagination."

Julieta shrugged, "I meant I could just sleep on the couch, but I could share a bed with Ga-Lord Gaelio if needed. We have already."

That earned Gaelio a good stare from both Almiria and Gallus, with Gaelio beating them to the punch of talking while holding his hands up as if to stop their trains of thought.

"Nothing happened, before you ask. Right, Julieta?"

Realizing now that perhaps she was placing Gaelio in hot water, Julieta did back him up since it was the truth that they had not actually slept with one another or done anything of the sort, "Your son has not acted improperly."

That being said, Julieta wondered if consistently waking up with Gaelio's head curled up into her chest counted. She didn't mind having him so close, but perhaps they would. Perhaps, she supposed, it was another sign that she was in love with him? It was something she intended to figure out in her own way, since this was new territory for her.

Gallus gave his son an amused smirk before bowing his head and departing the room, "Very well. I will be retiring now, so I hope you all have a good night."

With their father leaving, Gaelio looked over to his sister.

"Almiria, you should be going to bed now too, shouldn't you?"

She crossed her arms in protest, "I don't want to go to bed. I'm not a child."

Knowing a good way to goad her into doing what he wanted her to, Gaelio bent down to her level and put a hand softly on her shoulder, "You need your sleep though if you want to grow up big and strong like your brother."

Her present size or rather lack thereof being a sore spot for Almiria, this instantly changed her tune and she gave in to the request to go to bed even though it was fairly early, night having just fallen, "Okay..."

* * *

While Almiria had agreed to go to bed, she did so on the condition that she sleep beside Gaelio. Which also meant sleeping by Julieta. Who, when they all got ready for bed together, did not seem to make the connection that she perhaps should sleep in different clothing than when it was just her and Gaelio.

The lights off, Julieta had stripped down to just her bra and the shorts she wore as underwear. Gaelio sighed as he came to realize that she intended to sleep as they normally did, and so he went into his room's wardrobe to pull out a loose t-shirt and a larger set of shorts.

Julieta gave him a confused look as he handed them over to her, "To change into."

"I sleep in my underwear."

Gaelio bent over to whisper to her as Almiria crawled into the bed on the other side of the room, "Not when Almiria is in the bed you don't."

Julieta thought it through and considered that perhaps other people might not like her being nearly naked around a pre-teen child including the child herself, so Julieta pulled the clothing handed to her on and relented without further argument. The t-shirt was far too large for her, and the shorts only hung on thanks to being adjustable.

With sleeves hanging down past her hands, Julieta made her way over to the bed and dug beneath the covers to free herself from the confines of consciousness. Gaelio joined her right after, with Almiria snuggling right up against him the moment he got in the bed, eager to be with her big brother and to hold him and never let him go again.

"I'm so happy you're back, Gaelio. I don't know what I would do if Macky died and I heard he was a bad man and you were..."

Dead was the word her voice failed to say.

"I'm sorry, Almiria, for what I had to do. McGillis needed to be stopped..." "A villain like him had no place in this world, and especially not at your side."

"Please don't leave me again. I can't lose you again."

"I promise, Almiria."

"I love you."

"And I love you, Almiria. Now get some sleep. We'll always have more time to talk in the morning."

Julieta found that having a small barrier in the form of Almiria in her way to holding Gaelio was a bit annoying considering that she was used to sleeping right beside her friend, but she was capable of dealing with the minor distraction for their sake as brother and sister held one another.

* * *

The morning gave way to early afternoon as Julieta slept in without meaning to. So used to her alarm blaring each morning in the fleet that she had completely slept through the entire morning as if her body were trying to tell her she didn't sleep enough and was making up for lost hours of rest.

Once she did wake up she noticed that both Gaelio and Almiria were missing, likely having woken up entire hours before her, and that at the edge of the bed were the pieces of her uniform freshly cleaned and prepared for her, along with a dark aqua t-shirt, a teal over-shirt, and casual tan cargo pants. Since she was here as a guest and not officially working for Gjallarhorn, Julieta decided that she should don the casual clothing provided instead of her uniform, which she would save in its pristine state until necessary.

When she swapped the loose t-shirt and shorts for this new clothing she found that it actually fit far better, though it was still far from perfect. The woman who had owned the previously was a fair bit taller than Julieta, so while the pants fit just about right the shirt was loose, as was the garment that went over it, but it was still close enough to be worn without discomfort.

While freshly cleaned, the clothes gave Julieta a feeling that they had not been used in years, but also that they were freshly cleaned and prepared for her just like the uniform had been. They were someone else's clothing, but Julieta didn't know whose and did not particularly care outside of the remote possibility that they may ask for them back.

Since she awoke hungry, Julieta's first instinct was to go to dining hall again and see if she could scrounge up some food. She did not expect to encounter Gallus having his lunch right then, but upon seeing him inside of the room she bowed respectfully and waited for him to acknowledge her.

The Bauduin with graying purple hair smiled as he looked at their visitor. He recognized the clothing she was wearing and with it came both good and bittersweet feelings, "I see Gaelio left you some of his mother's wardrobe," the widow sighed as he looked down to his meal, "Those were her favorite clothes."

Julieta's eyes widened as she came to realize that Gaelio had just given her the clothes belonging to his mother. She did not know what having a mother was really like, but if what she had gleamed from others was true then the act of passing on such clothing...it was no doubt an intimate act.

Was Gaelio 'courting' her in his own way?

"I am sorry. I did not know."

Gallus held up a hand to silence her apology, "No need to be sorry. I think she would want them to be used and not just sit in an old wardrobe for years as they have been before this morning," he then used the same hand to gesture across from him at the table to one of its sides, while he sat at the head of it, "Care to dine with me, Miss Juris?"

Having come for food and now being offered a chance to eat with the head of the household, Julieta saw no reason to refuse him and so she sat down where he had pointed to. As she moved across the room Gallus smirked at the sight of her bare feet, amused that she was just casually strolling about without caring about footwear. Gaelio had left a pair of his mother's shoes that were about Julieta's size, but they had a slight heel to them and Julieta felt awkward wearing those so she just went barefoot to find food.

Gaelio had brought home quite the interesting specimen, that was for sure.

"Where are Gaelio and Almiria?"

As Julieta began to stack her plate with food and ready her own meal from the buffet available on the room's large table, Gallus responded after a mouthful of his own lunch.

"My children are spending some time together to catch up, and I would not want to disturb them. I believe they are in the gardens presently."

After more than a year apart, Julieta supposed they ought to spend some time together, and so she had no complaint at being left alone from them for the time being.

"I will not interrupt them either, then."

Gallus waited to see if Julieta would say anything else, but she seemed enamored by the vinison he had hunted with some others just the other day at a special resort. Since she was not speaking up and offering any course of topic, he decided to fill one into the void of speech in the room.

"So, Miss Juris, how is it that you came to be so close to my son?"

"He and I both work...worked for Rustal Elion, and so I encountered him frequently," Julieta corrected herself, since now she was officially working under Gaelio...on behalf of Rustal Elion.

Gallus nodded, already having known that part, "Not knowing who he was, though."

"He was a masked man named Vidar who sought to take revenge on McGillis Fareed. That was what I knew of him."

The host laughed as he thought about his son's antics, "It must have been peculiar working with a man who would not show his face."

Julieta nodded, "I did not trust him and disliked him at first. I thought him a coward for hiding his face, at least until I understood perhaps why he might use such a device."

Gallus continued his good cheer as he put forth a possible explanation, "Perhaps he wanted to be like one of those Sentai Rangers he grew up watching."

The word Sentai was not one Julieta was familiar with and so she inquired about it, "Sentai?"

"Teenage superheroes who dress up in tights and fight evil while having masks on. They also use giant robots not too dissimilar to mobile suits except for being bulkier," Gallus had a chuckle at the concept, "We actually have quite the collection of old movies and television series, so both Gaelio and Almiria are familiar with it."

Julieta furrowed her brow while speaking tersely, "So Gaelio was playing dress up as Vidar?"

Gallus shook his head, realizing that Julieta was taking his jesting comment too seriously, "No, I was merely joking. I believe he did it to actually conceal his identity without needing to be influenced by Megaranger," he smirked as he made note of the straightforward nature of this woman he was speaking to, having seen her kind of unfiltered personality before that did not censor themselves the way everyone else tended to: he had to be quite familiar, since he had been married to it, "However, it seems what people say about boys marrying their mother is true."

Not familiar with the saying, Julieta again took it at face value, "Why would someone marry their mother? Would that not be genetically unsound?"

"Nothing like Oedipus, what I meant was that you remind me much of my wife, Gaelio's mother. With a spirit like yours, I must say you will be a welcome member of our family," Gallus affirmed.

So Gaelio's sister and Father thought that...

Julieta blushed as she came to the conclusion that if it was obvious to everyone else around them that she and Gaelio must be demonstrating tendencies befitting of a romantic couple.

"F...family?"

Gallus laughed cheerfully as he nodded, "Yes, Julieta Bauduin. I think it sounds good, don't you?"

She was a bit confused now. She wasn't married to Gaelio, so why would she be Julieta Bauduin? "Are you adopting me?"

"I mean I could, but that would make you marrying Gaelio...interesting."

Julieta confirmed that Gaelio's father indeed was thinking the same thing as Almiria, and so she shook her head while smirking, "Oh, you must have spoken to Almiria. She seems to believe that Gaelio and I are lovers, which is untrue."

Gallus nodded slowly, coming to the conclusion that Gaelio had not yet followed through on their last conversation, "Yes, my mistake," Gallus decided to take things into his own hands however in a way he could, "I meant what I said, however. You are the only female friend Gaelio has possessed in his brief tenure in this world, the daughter of the Issue family notwithstanding. The way those two acted they were like brother and sister."

The death of Carta had left a deep mark on Gaelio, and Julieta had found herself wondering if a part of him had once loved her. She did not believe that he had romantic feelings for Carta, but he had still seemingly cared for her quite deeply. If he had been romantically interested in the other woman before Julieta would have thought he would be trying to celebrate her memory more now that he was free from his shackles as the masked man Vidar, but instead he seemed content just leaving her memory be.

"Miss Carta has been avenged thanks to Gaelio. Her death seemed to irritate him more than the betrayal he faced himself."

Had Gaelio been the only one to suffer at McGillis' hands, Julieta wondered if Gaelio would even have done all of this. He was so kind and caring that she could actually see him perhaps affording McGillis some forgiveness, but the deaths of Carta Issue and Ein Dalton ruined any chance he had of that.

Gallus lost his good cheer at the subject of his son's near death and betrayal by McGillis, "To have one friend betray you can be heartbreaking. To have a second friend be murdered by that one must take a toll that is hard to bear."

"Revenge is an ugly thing, but I believe it was necessary in this case," Julieta paused and gave some consideration to the man she was speaking to while still supporting the actions taken by Gaelio, "Gaelio should have told you of his survival, but I believe he did the right thing."

"Defending him, are we?" Gallus slowly grinned again, "From what I gather on the situation, I must agree. And if I am to be honest, I am not so foolish to have not noticed that the Kimaris was not returned like what the official records stated. From what I remember of the machine, it is a noble steed like the sigil of our house. I doubt someone other than Gaelio himself would have been able to pilot it, though perhaps it could have been stripped down for parts or sold to some antique dealer."

"Does it possess an artificial intelligence?"

Gallus continued to grin as he shook his head, nostalgia trickling in to his mind as he thought back to Gaelio's first experiences with the trusty family heirloom that had been collecting dust, "That, I am not at liberty to say, but I remember once hearing my son complain about how the machine felt as if it were fighting him when he brought it out after first using the Graze. Like it was upset over being passed over, like one might expect of a living being and not a machine."

He paused and, then remembering some of what Gaelio had told him, spoke again in a wistful voice.

"Now, I would think it has even more reason to."

Julieta on the other hand had another train of thought considering the Kimaris.

"I would like to one day pilot it."

It did not matter to her if it would resist her controls as both Gaelio and his father suggested it might, what mattered was that she was capable of using the machine she considered to be the most powerful of its time.

"Maybe Gaelio can convince it to allow another to handle its reins."

Gallus paused for a moment before stroking his beard while smirking knowingly.

"Of course, since it is the vessel sworn to serve our family, you could circumvent the entire issue by joining us."

Another marriage offer of sorts from the old man, to be with Gaelio...

There actually was no direct complaint from Julieta towards the idea itself, for she did not understand enough about the concept to know whether she even would like or be against it.

"I am afraid I still do not fully understand what marriage is. What would the parameters and expectations be?"

"Well in its most basic form, dating back thousands of years, it was the joining of two houses through two of their children so as to produce offspring and to ensure the continuation of their bloodlines," her mingled his fingers together as he mentioned houses, but took them apart as he continued to speak, his face revealing a certain sadness to it as if he regretted the current state of affairs, "Nowadays, it is mostly a tool for those who believe they love one another to label their union and make something of it."

His usage of an uncertain term had Julieta curious, "Believe?"

"Divorce has become a common practice, for we are no longer of the age where marriage concerned the life and death of families, but rather where it is something many do on a whim. So I said believe, because not every union works out as those participating would hope, and separations often happen now," he brought a hand to his chest, "For members of the Seven Stars however, we place great importance on those who our bloodlines will mingle with for the family's name and strength must carry on not only for our sake but for the stability of the world. For this reason, we do not always marry those we love, but rather those who will benefit our status the most."

What he said so far seemed like a basic explanation that filled in some of the gaps of what she barely knew of before. Galan did not exactly fill her in on what a husband and wife really were back when she was learning from him, and the rest she knew came from what she saw while with Rustal.

Still, something crossed Julieta's mind and left her curious. The clothes she was wearing seemed to be commoner clothing, so had Gallus married someone just like herself, someone who wasn't one of the rich nobles? If Gallus had wed such a person, perhaps that could help explain why Gaelio would...could...

She silenced her thoughts and went forth with her question.

"Did you love your wife?"

The response was a slow nod of the head, followed by Gallus closing his eyes to picture his wife, "I was fortunate to marry a woman I had been close to for some time, and the reason I have not taken another wife a decade after her passing is indeed that I loved her with my whole heart."

This satisfied her question and left her with the possibility that Gaelio indeed was following in his father's footsteps and possibly did love her despite their difference in social status. Still curious what a wife of the Bauduin family did, Julieta pressed further, "What did she do?"

"Some may downplay the significance of such a role, but my wife was the pillar from which I could stand up and achieve the goals I sought. She supported me in my work, and she maintained our House's needs by organizing galas, entertaining guests, representing our family when I could not..." Gallus looked down sorrowfully, as if he was ashamed, "I am afraid that without her I have not been able to function as I once had. I have grown complacent, and the bonds and friendships she once helped forge are now fraying at their edges."

Still, as much as he missed his wife he would never forget or stop to admire what he did love about her in life, and so Gallus came to smile even if it possessed a sadness to it.

"She challenged me in mind and spirit. That was how I could possess a drive greater than what I could on my own, and without her I feel as if a piece of my life is missing."

Julieta looked down at the old clothing of the deceased Lady Bauduin. It was the colors she liked, having grown up with Galan Mossa using green on his mobile suits often times for its camouflage value and Rustal's fleet having a close teal to the one she now wore. Was the position that the former owner possessed also something she could like to do?

Her gut told her no, that it would be agony, but she remained questioning on the matter. She did not think she had a mind for the chessmaster political scheming others might be capable of, but she was wondering if she couldn't learn enough to get by. She just had never bothered to try yet to do anything of the sort, so maybe she could have a hidden aptitude for it even though it contrasted with her earnest nature?

After a brief pause in the conversation, Gallus finally looked up to Julieta after his shame over his complacency wore away and gave way to a sad yet proud expression.

"Most importantly, my wife gave me the two most precious gifts I have ever received: my children. Without them our family would perish, and with them I know no greater happiness."

His explanation seemingly over, Julieta already had her first question in the chamber and ready to fire.

"So a wife of the Seven Stars would be required to befriend foolish nobles like Iok Kujan?"

Gallus nodded as he stood up, "In a sense, yes, but let me demonstrate something to you."

The Bauduin clan's leader knelt down before Julieta respectfully and spoke in a cultured, sincere voice.

"Miss Juris, I have never before in my life met someone just like you."

Julieta was confused and so tried to offer some form of gratitude for what seemed to be flattery, "T...thank you?"

Gallus stood up and broke the character he had just demonstrated with a laugh and smirk, "The best lies are wrapped in the truth," he winked at Julieta as he explained the trick, "The truth is that I have not met you before, and so I am not lying when I say that I have never met someone just like you because each of us is at the end of the day entirely unique even if we have occasional similarities. But the way it sounds when I say it makes one feel special, feel like they have been paid a compliment."

That...was brilliant. Julieta loved saying what she actually thought and what was on her mind, but by not censoring herself it often caused others to dislike her. But if she could call someone an idiot without the realizing it or anything like that...it was quite appealing to her.

"So...what you are saying is that I can still tell the truth and what is on my mind if I just word it how someone wants to hear it?"

Gallus nodded and laughed as he remembered the time he spent teaching his wife the art of lying through the truth, "Precisely. When I married my wife I was worried I might have to cut out her tongue she was such a spitfire, but she learned to smile and speak as I just did so that she could play her role. She hated each and every one of the sycophants and backstabbers in the elite she met, but by careful planning and thinking she managed to do what she had to for the family."

As much as she liked the concept, Julieta still felt that perhaps she lacked the people skills to see such a deception.

"I'm not sure I could ever do something like that."

"With the proper effort and training, I am sure someone as talented as you could manage it."

Her first question dealt with, Julieta moved on to another...one she was pretty sure she could accomplish, but which she required some confirmation about since she did not know much about its specifics.

"A wife also would be expected to produce heirs for the family, yes?"

"It is essential to the continuation of the bloodline, as demonstrated most recently by the Issue family."

"How many?"

That was her actual question, and it caught Gallus off-guard. Julieta was no-nonsense and so she cut right to the chase when it came to inquiring about the role of being a wife like it was an official job offering.

"It...it isn't an exact process. Whatever the married couple come to an agreement on, I would think."

Julieta tilted her head, still trying to figure this all out, "The more the better, correct? That way even if a few die or otherwise cannot carry on the family name there will be others to take their place."

"Hypothetically, yes," Gallus replied, not wanting to say anything that might influence his son's possible sex life one way or the other or that might scare Julieta off, but also not knowing really what to say back to such a sudden and direct question on a sensitive topic.

Still, as odd as she might be Gallus could certainly see that this soldier Gaelio had picked up was not without her merits and meant well. That she was similar in a few ways to Gaelio's own mother both enamored Gallus and won over his support for the pairing, something reinforced by her now wearing her clothing.

"I presume the reason you ask all of these questions is because you did not possess a family of your own growing up."

Julieta tried to respond verbally, but she failed to get anything out before she nodded her head affirmatively. She owed everything she had to Galan and Rustal, but while they were the closest she had to parental figures they were far from what one would normally consider them.

She froze as she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Gallus smiling down at her.

"So long as you are at my son's side, you are a welcome guest in our home. I mean it when I say you would be a welcome addition to our family."

Gaelio meant a great deal to her, she was taking a liking to Almiria, she liked their father, and her stomach was full of the best food she might have ever had in her life. If this was what it meant to be a Bauduin, to be around good and sincere people who led comfortable lifestyles while working also with Gjallarhorn, Julieta actually had to say she wouldn't mind perhaps taking on such a role.

She blushed as she wondered if Gaelio actually did agree with his sister and father.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to wear your uniform, Miss Julieta?"

To celebrate Gaelio's return, a social gathering was arranged for that night and as many noblemen and noblewomen who were not needed elsewhere came by to pay their respects to the family reunited with their lost son. Of course, as the guest of honor, Gaelio was to attend it, and after some slight convincing Julieta was going to go as well. Or, because it was happening in the house she was presently staying inside of, she rather was not going to hide from it.

Almiria was trying to convince Julieta to wear something differently, but Julieta did not care. Her uniform was clean and nice and she enjoyed it as a familiar, comfortable outfit. While the clothes she had been given that morning were certainly comfier on their own, she was not used to them yet nor were they serious enough clothing to wear to a function such as this.

"I do not own a dress nor do I desire one presently."

Almiria took this refusal in stride as she followed beside Julieta towards where everyone was situated in one wing of the large facility, "We should go shopping for you then. I'm sure we could find you something perfect that shows off how pretty you are."

The compliment actually surprised Julieta, "I'm...pretty?"

"Of course," the young girl giggled, "Your face is cute like mine, and Gaelio chose you over all the others so he must think you're beautiful."

"Our relationship isn't like that," Julieta affirmed, for it truly was not...yet. A part of her was growing fond of the idea of it developing in a romantic light, since that was an experience she was unfamiliar with and did not think she would mind sharing with him the more she pieced things together about it.

The two reached the large room where most of the guests were scattered about on its multiple levels and sections, but at the entrance to the room Almiria stopped and Julieta did as well to try and see why Almiria seemed scared to enter.

"What's the matter?"

Almiria sheepishly looked down as she tried not to look at any of the women in the room, "I'm just a girl, but I'm next to all of these beautiful women..."

Julieta rose an eyebrow in curiosity until she took a look at the room and caught sight of buxom women from wall to wall. Then, looking down at Almiria, she could see that she had not entered puberty yet and thus was nowhere in the same league as the people she was comparing herself to.

"Oh, you haven't developed yet."

Almiria huffed at Julieta's blunt statement of the fact, "I'm not even a teenager, of course not."

"I grew up when I was just a little older than you," Julieta shrugged, not really understanding the big deal anyways, "I haven't needed large breasts, they would only get in my way as a pilot. I do not understand why they are important."

Almiria opened her mouth to explain why they were important until she realized she wasn't all too sure why either. People liked them she supposed? She knew what they were for, so maybe there was something to that?

"A woman with a large chest can feed her babies, I think, so I think people like them," Almiria paused as she tried to remember what she had been reading with her tutors the other day, "My biology book says when a women gets older she develops them for that reason along with larger hips."

Julieta proudly put her hands on her wide hips, "Oh, I have those. Strong legs has always been useful."

Thinking there to be some kind of trick to it, Almiria pled for Julieta to reveal her secrets for possessing at least half of the curves a woman might, "How can I get big legs like yours?"

"I exercise a lot I suppose, but before I developed I was a string bean like you."

This gave Almiria hope and so her eyes lit up as Julieta unintentionally cheered her up, "So do you think I can have curves like a real woman one day?"

"I don't read biology textbooks, so I don't know. Probably with the right diet and exercise. Drink milk."

With this in mind, Almiria made her way into the room with an air of confidence that was not lost upon Julieta, who followed beside the heiress.

"You seem a lot more confident."

Almiria grinned as she tried to picture how things would be in a few years, "Well soon I'm going to be the most beautiful woman there, rather than the little kid they all can laugh at."

While Almiria was satisfied now, Julieta actually was beginning to have some doubts as they passed by women who possessed both a large bust as well as considerable lower bodies, "Do you think Gaelio minds my only curves are my legs?"

"Gaelio never cared for even women who got surgery, so I think he likes you just the way you are."

Almiria stopped to turn around and grin at Julieta in a way Julieta recognized as coming directly from her father.

"If you two aren't together, why does that matter though?"

Julieta blushed as she was caught, "J-just curious."

Almiria laughed as she triumphed over Julieta verbally, "Don't worry Miss Julieta, you can get bigger if you want. I learned that they get bigger sometimes the other day."

"Bigger? How?"

"You just have to have a baby. Then they'll get bigger so you can feed them," Almiria explained as if it was plain as day, though it only made Julieta narrow her eyes at the heiress while they aimlessly wandered through the room at Almiria's discretion.

"I never thought of having children."

That was, before today. She hadn't felt any real urge to do so, but now that the idea was in her head she didn't find it too odd. If, hypothetically, she had children they could do multiple times the service to Rustal Elion she ever could in her own life. Hypothetically, of course. It just made some mathematical sense to Julieta to sacrifice a couple years of time for born allies to her personal cause.

Almiria, who was raised with the purpose of one day marrying into a family for that family's lineage to continue while establishing relations with the Bauduins, was the opposite of Julieta in this regard and was shocked that someone wasn't like her and didn't have such thoughts or aspirations before, "You haven't?"

Julieta shrugged, not caring too much just like with the balloons that comprised the chests of many of the other women present, "I am a soldier. I can't fight if I can't fit into a flight suit."

The simple explanation reminded Almiria that yes, not everyone had the same upbringing or life circumstances as her or even was a noble, "Oh, right," this realization quickly gave way to her getting another idea, with her growing gleeful at her own thought, "Maybe when you're done being a soldier then? You and Gaelio could have such cute babies!"

Julieta blanched, which only served as further fuel for the people watching her from afar in the room to judge her. Who was this uncouth woman and what was she doing there? Why was she with Almiria Bauduin of all people?

"Do you see that weird woman?" one woman whispered to another.

"Oh, that's Guiliette something or another. She's one of Rustal's soldiers, so she's been working with Gaelio all this time it seems."

"She seems short for a soldier," another laughed, "That's not all that is underdeveloped."

"Rumor has it that Rustal's top pilot, Julieta, was quite close with the masked man who turned out to be Gaelio. If that's true, she might be his mistress."

"That thing? I don't even think she knows how to eat what she's holding."

Surely enough, Julieta was at a refreshment table and was wondering what arcane food she was holding. It did little to endear her to those seeking to mock her, the sudden appearance of a woman seemingly close to the Bauduins threatening their chances to be with Gaelio Bauduin now that he was back.

"Even the runt will be taller than her by next year I bet."

"How uncouth."

"Maybe he's gay after all? She looks kind of like a boy."

"All these years and he hasn't even looked any of us over once, and now he's going after some monkey of a soldier? What is Gaelio thinking?"

Someone clearing their throat caught the small posse of women by surprise, and they turned around to see that Gaelio was standing right by them.

"My ears are burning."

He had learned to move quite silently in his time as Vidar, and so these women who had never truly done anything in their lives now were caught completely by surprise.

"Oh, Gaelio. It's so good to have you back," one said, moving in to try and embrace him as a welcome back only for Gaelio to stop her with a hand.

"Is it?"

His question caught the small cloister of women by surprise, since while Gaelio had a perfectly polite tone it implied that they weren't actually happy to see him. For this there were a few implications, the main ones being that they were glad to see his meal ticket again rather than him, and that they were not pleased to see him right at that moment while they were mocking him.

Gaelio stepped past the women and looked across the room all the way over to where Julieta and Almiria were having their fun at the refreshment table, no-one really wanting to talk to Almiria since she was just a little kid and they were all adults while no-one knew or really cared about Julieta...yet.

"You seem quite curious about my personal guest, Julieta. No, she and I are not romantically involved as you implied, but I would wed her before I gave my mother's ring to any of you."

Gaelio turned back to the women with a smile, though it was obviously fake if it wasn't outright malicious.

"My father may permit classless spoiled brats to dine in our home while insulting and looking down upon not only my sister but our esteemed guest, but I shall not a day longer. I expect you to leave, and to not make a scene, immediately. From now on I do not want to see you on our property again, not until you have properly made right your wrongs."

Him kicking them out of the party shocked all of those he had confronted, and none moved as if they were unsure if he was serious or joking just yet. They would soon find out which when he curtly spoke.

"Now."

One woman tried to defend herself from the dismissal with an indignant, "You can't—"

Gaelio cut her off, still smiling politely, "I can and will. If you do not remove yourself, I will have someone do so for you. You may mock her, but I am sure that Julieta could throw all of you out of here by herself."

"That pipsqueak?" the one testing his authority questioned, given that she was far taller than Julieta.

Size did not mean everything, and so Gaelio welcomed this wretch to try to handle Julieta, for he was cure it would be quite the spectacle to behold, "Would you like to test her?"

Without further prompting the small group departed the party without further argument, their hopes to perhaps one day wed Gaelio dashed anyways by how things had turned out. Now sans them, Gaelio made his way over to join his sister and Julieta, but by the time he got there Almiria decided to go speak with a small family of nobles she knew and liked since they didn't look down on her for her age.

Now with Julieta by the refreshments, Gaelio finished the wine he had started earlier so he could pick up another glass and begin working on it.

"How goes the night, Julieta?"

Julieta finished scarfing down the food she had found, not knowing its name but enjoying its taste as she helped herself to her fifth piece.

"Fine, I suppose. This is not my kind of event...except for the food."

Gaelio chuckled at her shameless devouring of the appetizers, "Nor is it mine, but it is a necessary evil I suppose."

Gaelio stood beside Julieta and leaned back against the sturdy table used for the refreshments, affording him a full view of the room. Seeing Gaelio look out at all of the others present, many of whom were women of superb beauty, made Julieta feel self-conscious again after what Almiria had said earlier about people liking those on the buxom end of the scale.

"Gaelio, do you mind that I do not possess the same...womanly qualities as the others here?"

He turned towards her and rose a periwinkle eyebrow, almost offended that she had to ask.

"Of course not."

Glad that he was not shallow just as Almiria said, Julieta nodded, "Good."

Since he knew Julieta would never ask something like that on her own, Gaelio had a good idea where it came from, "Were you talking to Almiria?"

Julieta nodded as she finished eating another appetizer, "She thinks she has to be beautiful because that's what all the other nobles she sees are like."

Gaelio grinned and sipped at his wine until its eventual emptying, "Don't worry too much about what she says."

With Julieta finishing her 'dinner', Gaelio noticed that she didn't seem to have a clue now what to do. To be a good host, he decided to personally entertain his dear friend rather than let her be an awkward wallflower who would draw attention to herself by manner of being so out of place.

He offered her an arm, "Do you wish to go outside, where we can have more privacy?"

Julieta didn't know the social cue was to take the arm, so when she nodded and agreed to his proposition she just walked past it and towards the nearest exit. Gaelio rolled his eyes and followed after her, guiding her not towards the nearest exit where some nobles happened to be standing by and enjoying the night air, but rather towards an alclove which was well away from the loudness of the party.

The structure was a semi-circle from what Julieta could see, and while it did not hang directly over the ocean it gave a good view overlooking it. After closing the door behind them Gaelio moved to stand by the edge, where he could lean on the navel high wall there and look out at the waves crashing about by his home as the moon's light shimmered across them.

"Tomorrow we return to Gjallarhorn and face the music for our actions."

Gaelio said it in a joking tone, but he did fully expect to have to argue for and defend his actions. He was also confident he would succeed, but that did not mean it would not be time consuming and exhausting to go through the whole process.

Julieta was not worried all too much given what she had been told before, "Master Rustal doesn't believe we will face repercussions."

That Gaelio could agree with Rustal on, "I recorded McGillis, so we cannot be faulted for taking down a traitor who had our allies slain for his ambitions, even if that traitor was a powerful member of Gjallarhorn. For months I have been doing the homework I once did as an investigator, so I also have the clear evidence of his ties to Tekkadan and the parts he played in their triumph over our forces."

"So...we are okay?"

Gaelio turned around and smiled at Julieta, "The hearings and the related bureaucracy will be unbearable for a time, but yes, things should turn out well. We have my father's support, Rustal Elion will support us even if it is in a reserved manner thanks to his rivalry with the deceased, and Kujan will be useful as well here."

"He will support us, right?" Julieta inquired, actually a bit worried that Iok might cause them problems rather than aid them, "But how can a man like that be of any use?"

"Iok is charismatic and possesses an energy to him that inspires loyalty, so he is a good ally to have when others would seek to tear us down," Gaelio explained, still smiling though no longer facing Julieta, "He has another role, however. He was a witness to the fact that you obtained the Order on Mars."

Gaelio had mentioned that, but he couldn't mean...he didn't actually mean that she would benefit from it, right?

"I...the Order is for Master Rustal."

That brought Gaelio to laugh and shake his head once, "Rustal was not supervising the battle, nor was he on Mars. He gave you the order to find and retrieve Iok and his team, but did not assign you the task of facing the Mobile Armor. He has no relation to your success against the Mobile Armor except as your superior, but your direct superior was Iok Kujan who was actually in battle against the Mobile Armor. If Rustal had any claim on the Order, Iok would have more of one, but fortunately that is not the case. It is yours."

Julieta sighed as she realized that he was correct...that she had technically done what the founders of Gjallarhorn had once upon a time and defeated a powerful Mobile Armor.

Now what?

"So I have the Order?" Julieta smirked as she joked about what that meant, "Does that make me a member of the Eight Stars of Gjallarhorn?"

To her surprise, Gaelio responded in a deadpan voice, "Yes. It does."

She gawked at his response to her jest, "You...you are joking, right?"

"Julieta of the family Juris, the Eighth Star of Gjallarhorn," Gaelio turned around and faced Julieta completely, a hand finding its way onto her shoulder, "It is not official, yet, but my Father will also be helping establish your power within Gjallarhorn."

The affirmation of this newfound power and position shocked Julieta, who did not know what to say back.

Her, a member of the Seven...no, Eight, Stars of Gjallarhorn? All because Gaelio helped her defeat the Mobile Armor and protected her, allowing her to finish it off?

Not one to eschew gratitude where it is due, Julieta felt grateful that she now possessed something of such great importance now due to Gaelio. However, she was not yet sure that it was even a gift she wanted, for worry crept into her spine that this might interfere with her serving Rustal Elion.

"I..."

Gaelio could sense her apprehension and so he worked to relieve it, "You want to help Rustal Elion and pay him back for all he has done for you, right?" she nodded, prompting Gaelio to speak further, "What better way than by becoming his peer and supporting him with more power than you could ever possess as a pilot alone?"

A member of the Seven Stars could command an entire force or fleet...as much as Julieta was proud of her piloting abilities, she was well aware of the fact that she could not defeat a fleet by herself. She could accomplish so much more with the power a Star of Gjallarhorn would offer than on her own.

If it meant giving Rustal the most she possibly could, Julieta would gladly accept the position and whatever hardships it possessed.

"You're right."

That did not, however, mean it would be easy for her and so Julieta frowned and looked down away from Gaelio.

"I'm not sure I can do it though. I am not a politician. I always speak my mind, but..."

Julieta blushed as she felt Gaelio move his hand from her shoulder to her face, the calloused skin of his hands grazing right up against her cheek.

"You can always learn," he said with a supportive voice, "I was not always Vidar, remember. When the moment comes, Human beings can change as they need to. It does not mean you have to be like Rustal or my father and be a professional politician, but I do believe you have a mind capable of traversing the landscape of Gjallarhorn's elite. When Carta represented her family, she served our cause through her military duty."

That, Julieta smiled, was certainly something appealing to her.

"I could do that."

"Would you like to be in charge Outer Earth Orbit Regulatory Joint Fleet?"

The casual and flippant manner he said it nearly made Julieta gawk.

"W-what?" realizing that once again Gaelio was serious, she amended her confused questioning, "I...how?"

Gaelio shrugged, "I was just asking. The position is vacant at the moment after all."

While it might be a lofty goal of sorts, the conversation at hand was already revealing to Julieta that she now possessed far greater reach and potential than she had ever imagined she might. Perhaps one day she could come to have such an important role, but she had no delusions that it would be tomorrow or even in the near future.

"Maybe one day. I doubt someone with a single Order such as myself would be able to hold such a position."

"That is true. The Issue family was the most powerful in Gjallarhorn and after taking their power the Fareed family took that," Gaelio looked out towards the ocean, his face possessing a calmness to its smile, "But if something like that is what you may want one day, I could help you achieve that goal."

Julieta could tell that he was speaking the truth, and she blushed to think of how fortunate she was to have someone be so selfless towards her. Gaelio cared about her in a way she felt no-one had before him, and it made her embarrassed to think of all he gave her while all she had to offer in return were companionship and comfort.

She closed her eyes as her head sunk down, feeling self-conscious about the situation she found herself in, "You deserved that Order, not me."

"Julieta, look at me."

It took her a moment, but she managed to crack her eyes open and look up to Gaelio despite her shame. When she did so, she was met with Gaelio looking right back at her, his hands on her shoulders. He seemed peaceful in a way she had not seen from him since she first saw his face except for when he was asleep, and even then sometimes he had nightmares that she had to coax him out of so it was rare even then.

"I'm happy you have it. You are one of the most capable pilots I know who is held back only by the fact she does not have a family name behind her to raise her status."

Julieta wanted to argue out of some modesty, but there was truth in what he said. She only had come as far as she had thanks to Rustal, but even then she was a mere subordinate who had to listen to others like Iok who had no right to hold their position except for their birthright.

"Family's are important..." she replied solemnly, thinking of how the closest she had ever had were Galan and Rustal, but one had been a teacher and the other her superior officer, so they weren't even great examples.

"Do you want one?"

Julieta froze, while Gaelio still smiled as he spoke.

"I wouldn't mind sharing mine, though I hope you like Almiria and my father, since chances are you will have to meet with my family again. After all, your duty presently is to protect me."

This calmed Julieta down somewhat, having thought for a brief moment that Gaelio was proposing to her.

"Your sister is a good child who reminds me of myself at her age, and your father is a good man, I believe, even if he is a bit silly."

Gaelio chuckled at her assessment, "Silly?"

"I think he has the idea that we're getting married or something. We're at least two steps away from that, so he is silly to think otherwise."

Julieta's flippant way of speaking was amusing even now as she spoke of something as major as marriage as if it was nothing special, "Only two?"

"If I am correct, the common progression path goes..." Julieta began to count on her fingers, "Friendship, dating, engagement, and then marriage. As a member of the Seven Stars, casual dating is not likely a possibility, leaving the steps at friendship, engagement, and then marriage. So two steps, maybe three."

Gaelio lowered his hands from her shoulders to Julieta's waist, his tone taking a mockingly lovesick bent to parody a star-crossed lover, "There is a pretty large gap then between steps one and two. However could I climb such a mountain?"

Even Julieta could recognize he was joking this time, but she still took it fairly seriously as she began to question what it would take for her to agree to marry someone.

"Hmmmm...I haven't thought of what it would be like to be married. After all, I can't serve Lord Elion if I settle down."

Julieta did not notice Gaelio's relieved smile as she looked aside to contemplate the issue, soon coming to a conclusion of her own making.

"So it would have to be someone who me being married to would benefit Master Rustal, but also who I am better than at something since I couldn't stand marrying someone better than me..."

Gaelio had expected as much, though he thought with some pride that he might have difficulty letting her be better than him at something. After all, he didn't like losing when he could help it.

Still thinking aloud what her requirements would be for a spouse, Julieta spoke further, "He also should be nice, and loyal, and love me..."

The blush she possessed then would be nothing compared to the one which replaced it a moment later when Gaelio bent down to one knee and looked up at Julieta while taking one of her hands in his own.

"I could promise you all of that," he winked before adding, "Though I can't promise that I'll let you be a better pilot than me."

He actually did it.

"Gaelio...I..."

While Julieta couldn't say she was caught entirely by surprise, part of her had been thinking that perhaps the notion that Gaelio did love her and would want to marry her as his family suggested had been wishful thinking. That she wanted to have someone care enough for her to ask it of her.

Now he had done it and she was speechless, not having formulated yet how she would actually respond to such a question, one that she had never expected to be asked before a day ago.

Julieta was not however the only one to realize that it was sudden, and so Gaelio continued his proposal as he had intended.

"Give me three months. Three months to show you that I mean what I said."

That sounded reasonable, Julieta thought, but...what happened when the three months were over with?

"And then?"

Gaelio smiled as he noticed that Julieta had intentionally or unintentionally put her own arms around him in a mirror of his hold on her, "Then I will ask you if you would do me the honor of being my wife and become my fiance."

So a three month trial. That sounded reasonable to Julieta, since it would give her three more months to contemplate this issue and figure out just what it was that she wanted.

"May I choose the wedding date?"

"Of course, if you wish," Gaelio nodded, glad that Julieta seemed to be coming around to the idea, "Though it will have to take certain other factors into consideration. I would have to be available to be there after all."

With this in mind, Julieta lowered her head into Gaelio's chest and let out a breath.

"Okay."

Three months to figure out the depth of her feelings, what she wanted to do with the possibilities placed before her, and if she wanted to spend the rest of her life waking up beside her dear friend who held such affection for her and having a family.

Julieta put a small amount of space between them so she could better look up at Gaelio, now having a serious and determined look she would often wear when on duty, "I agree to your terms of future engagement. If you prove to me in the next three months that you will be a good husband, I will marry you and bear your children, on the condition that you ask for and receive Master Rustal's permission for my leave of his service."

Gaelio grinned, foreseeing no problem in obtaining Rustal Elion's permission to marry Julieta. This moment of joy soured for him when he thought of Rustal further though and how the man might try to twist Julieta's relationship to his own purposes. While Gaelio wanted to make it so Julieta would be sidelined from the political turmoil, she would no doubt be given a front row seat to it that would just have to be turned down.

Julieta could read the shift in Gaelio's mood and it confused her, but her confusion did not last too long as Gaelio soon explained himself.

"Julieta, there is something I want you to know. Given my...potentially 'our' status, there will be occasional power struggles and conflicts that come about. While I do not wish to oppose Rustal Elion, I cannot promise that there will never be an occasion when he and I do not see eye to eye on a matter."

The honesty pleased Julieta, who understood what he was saying. Different houses did not always agree with one another and so by joining the Bauduins she would be placed in a position where her loyalty to Rustal or to them might come into question.

"My loyalty is to Master Rustal," Julieta said first, but followed it up with something that even surprised Gaelio, "But if he grants me permission to marry you, then he must know to expect me to be loyal first and foremost to my husband."

Still, Rustal expecting Julieta to be loyal to the Bauduins did not mean she would enjoy ever having him as an enemy of sorts, and so Julieta added sternly, "Don't make me oppose him."

"I don't plan to, Julieta," Gaelio said truthfully, wanting nothing more for her than for her to be out from under Rustal's control without hurting their bond, "But can I be honest with you?"

Julieta nodded, not knowing what to expect, but she always spoke her mind so she was not going to tell Gaelio not to do so.

"This is not an attempt to criticize Rustal, but rather just an observation of the political game we are about to enter: he will agree to our marriage, because he knows he can trust you. If you marry me, he can have one of his own insiders planted right beside me."

It didn't sting to hear Gaelio's suspicion, for it made perfect sense to Julieta as something her master would do, "That does sound like something Master Rustal might do."

"Can I ask then that, while I do not seek conflict with him, for you to not let him use you? I want you to make your own decisions and be your own person," Gaelio's face softened, "If that means one day returning to his side and leaving me, so be it, but..."

"I won't be Carta Issue. I will not let someone dictate my fate for me, whether it is you or Master Rustal."

The determination in her tone brought a smile back to Gaelio, who was glad to hear that she was beginning to listen to his advice. He did not want her to be like Ein and blindly sacrifice her entire being for someone else, be that Rustal or himself. If she wanted to serve Rustal because that was what she wanted in life and it was her own decision rather than a feeling born of seeming guilt that he had given her so much, then that was what she would do. But if she wanted to be with him, Gaelio, then...

"If I, in three months, choose to marry you it will be because that is what I want for myself," Julieta explained.

Silence hung between them for a moment before Julieta lifted a hand up to point to her lips.

"Are you supposed to kiss me now?" she blushed as she stood nervously, "I've never done it before, so I...I don't know what to do?"

Gaelio laughed as he leaned in towards her to fulfill her seeming request, "It would be an honor to share my first kiss with a lady as beautiful as yourself."

His lips did not meet her own however, instead pressing up against her index finger, which Julieta had placed in the way.

"Not yet."

Confused, Gaelio let her explain herself as Julieta frowned.

"I've seen how you pilot. You don't let yourself be hit unnecessarily, but you fight recklessly. How you move throughout the battlefield is beautiful, but you risk your life with each strike. If you are going to get yourself killed, I want no part of it. You can forget the entire deal if you are just going to throw your life away."

In response Gaelio lowered his forehead to be touching Julieta's, his voice sincere, "I have no intention of leaving you or my family behind again," Julieta was not the only one worried about such dangerous behaviors however, "But promise me that you won't die on me, either."

Julieta pulled herself closer to him, "I promise, Gaelio."

With her no longer blocking him with a finger, Gaelio pressed his lips down on Julieta's. She moved her own to meet his as he leant down over her, though she didn't really know what to do with them and just followed Gaelio's lead. He too was inexperienced given his propensity for not engaging in relationships to the chagrin of his family up until now, so the two lingered with their faces pressed up against one another until Gaelio shifted his grip around Julieta.

Julieta nearly yelped into Gaelio's face as she felt him drop his hands from her waist to her rear, but when he lifted her up a moment later she understood why he shifted his grip: he was tall and she was short, so he was evening them out. With Gaelio holding her up, Julieta assisted him a little by using her legs to hold herself up, wrapping them around him as they deepened their kiss.

If another man had grabbed her rear Julieta was sure she would have put him in the hospital, but she didn't find herself minding at all after the initial surprise. Even after their inexperienced kiss faded they remained as they were, faces right beside one another while Gaelio held her up in his strong grip.

"Your family was right," Julieta said in a near whisper as she finally came to a certain conclusion, "I think I love you."

It didn't mean that she was sold on the idea of marriage yet, but one of her criteria was met...Gaelio obviously cared for her, and she cared for him as well.

Gaelio kissed her on the forehead, "And I love you, Julieta...though, speaking of my family, we should probably save Almiria from those inside."

Julieta smirked as she thought about how the poor young heiress must be fending off hordes of fake acting nobles now that she was all by herself inside. Perhaps they should play the part of saviors to her and rescue her from whatever situation she found herself in.

"Don't expect me to act like you are anything more than a friend," Julieta explained after sliding down and off Gaelio and straightening out her uniform, with Gaelio doing the same for his more casual dress clothes.

"Of course not. We wouldn't want to appear unprofessional, would we?"

Julieta smirked up at him and moved a stray strand of hair our of her eyes. Seeing Gaelio's kind, happy face almost made up her mind right then and there as she found herself smiling the same genuine smile he possessed.

Whatever the following days had in store for them, Julieta was determined to be by his side through them. He made her happy, and she was not going to let anything change that.

* * *

 **A/N: As one may see, this was a gigantic chapter and took a lot to complete, so thank you to Shinn, Spirit of Justice, Nuclear Breadstick, Angel-no-Crux, Msmusicful, Kaiser Chris, and a guest for your reviews and support since the last chapter. I hope you continue to enjoy and that I can continue hearing your thoughts as the story continues.**

 **Thank you everyone for reading, and if you have any thoughts they would be most appreciaated in the reviews below!**


	8. Inquisition

**A/N: Sorry my my absence, but I'm back now. Turns out a lot of my theories and things have been correct in one way or another, be it how Ein's interaction with the Kimaris/Vidar works or even something mundane like Gaelio being scarred (I just went for the most obvious target, his abdomen, rather than the smaller target of his face), so it's been decently vindicating that I essentially got it right the first time around.**

 **Now, onto the story.**

* * *

"Gaelio Bauduin..."

His name is said with some amazement when Gaelio stands before the remaining members of the Seven Stars, in truth the Five Stars with the death of Carta and McGillis most recently. Gallus and Rustal aren't surprised by Gaelio's reappearance, but Elek Falk, Nemo Baklazan, and Iok Kujan all have their differing levels of surprise to the news. Iok was overjoyed to learn that the comrade he had come to be indebted to was none other than Gaelio Bauduin, seeing him as a righteous vanquisher of McGillis Fareed, while both Elek Falk and Nemo Baklazan are left more stolid over all of this news and less revealing of their thoughts.

Standing before the five others in a room separate from their normal meeting chamber, one which resembled a courtroom with the ascetics of Gjallarhorn, Gaelio bows gracefully towards them, "It is good to be back after so long."

Baklazan, the one leading the matter, clears his throat, "This is an important matter, Specialist Major Bauduin. Please take it seriously."

Because of his relationship with Gallus and his work with Rustal and Iok, they will not hold the same sway in this proceeding as they otherwise might: they would be biased one way or another, so the two impartial members of the Seven Stars are left to truly decide Gaelio's punishment, if any, for his attack upon McGillis Fareed.

"Of course, Lord Baklazan. I understand the severity of the situation and will treat it as I ought."

This being said, the evidence was entirely in his favor, and so any unjust judgment made would reflect poorly upon both of their families as an obvious power-play against the Bauduin Family. While that accusation would be levied against Gaelio himself in this instance for killing McGillis, that he had a recording of McGillis admitting to his crimes where he sought to betray Gjallarhorn from within and bring about revolutionary change would negate that since all Gaelio did was prevent McGillis from leading a large scale rebellion.

If anything, Gaelio would likely be promoted and commended in the end as doing so would benefit those remaining. It would not exactly be that simple, but that was where it would boil down to at the end of the day.

Julieta though...that would be another case entirely.

* * *

"Julieta Juris. Will you testify to what happened on Mars between yourself, Gaelio Bauduin, and the supposed traitors McGillis Fareed and Isurugi Camice?"

After Gaelio's initial hearing was over, Julieta was lead in next and had to face the exact same panel. In this instance only Iok and Rustal were to sit out of the judgment, as Gallus did not have a sufficient connection (known, at least) to Julieta to keep him from partaking. Her new position as Gaelio's bodyguard rose some question at first, but it was decided ultimately that this was too new a development and he knew her too little for it to effect his judgment.

On the way in, Gaelio gave Julieta a wink, as if signalling that his portion went well. Julieta hoped that hers would go similarly, and so gave her rehearsed accounting of the events on Mars that were completely factual and did not diverge from the official record of the events. After telling them of the events as robotically as she could, Falk, the very fat member of the Seven Stars who had brown hair, speaks up.

"What is the relationship between you and Gaelio Bauduin?"

Julieta keeps her voice even and posture rigid as she speaks the truth in a way that would not reflect poorly upon her, "I am presently the subordinate of Lord Bauduin and his sworn protector. At the time of the incident, he was someone else, however."

She _was_ presently his subordinate and he _was_ someone other than Gaelio Bauduin when the incident occurred...it just left out the details of her present agreement with him to possibly be married come the end of a three month trial period of them having a personal relationship.

Baklazan, the skinny old man who sat on the council, was next to speak, "Someone else...you mean the identity crafted for him by the leader of the Arianrhod Fleet, your former superior, Lord Rustal Elion? This so called 'Vidar'?"

Rustal grins in his seat with the others above the rest of the room, elevated as their status dictated. It was amusing to him that just because he was not allowed to directly weigh in on the proceeding that he was being treated as if he were actually not there.

Julieta confirms the assertion of Baklazan, "Yes, my Lord. I knew him only as Vidar until he revealed himself to Lord Fareed on Mars."

"Did you suspect his identity at any time?"

There hints, yes, but conventional logic of Gaelio Bauduin being _dead_ actually kept Julieta from reaching that conclusion.

"From what I had learned prior I knew only that Lord Fareed had wronged him in some way previously and posed a present threat to someone he still cared for. I learned that he knew that McGillis played some part in the downfall of Lady Issue, and seemed to hold it against him. From this, I believed him to be a retainer of hers who survived the attack of the criminal organization Tekkadan and sought revenge upon McGillis in return. In retrospect, his identity as Gaelio Bauduin seems obvious, though I as well as many others believed him to have died at Edmonton."

Falk nods along with this, having believed the same and remembering the condolences he offered Gallus at the time, "Can you identify for us the person you believe Lord Fareed was placing in danger during this time period?"

"I believe it to be Almiria Bauduin, his sister who was until recently engaged to McGillis. I have since learned that McGillis told Gaelio while betraying him that he would 'take care of' Almiria, which can be construed as a threat given his intentions to marry an underage child."

Baklazan speaks up again, "Please refrain from hearsay."

Julieta shook her head, for it was _not_ hearsay actually, "The damaged Kimaris Trooper had information from its battle which Rustal Elion compiled at the time of Edmonton. I have heard the recordings to corroborate what I have heard since the incident."

Baklazan squints his eyes at Julieta, moving on from his attempt to hurt her testimony, "At the time of the Mars incident you fought a member of the Seven Stars without knowing if the accusations held against them were true. Why?"

"I trusted Lord Bauduin, and McGillis did not flatly reject his claims, leading me to believe them to be true. Given this betrayal of Gjallarhorn, it was justified to remove the traitor who was conspiring with forces who have opposed us in the past."

Falk balked at her statement, "Whether it was justified will remain for us to see, Julieta Juris of the Arianrhod Fleet."

Silent mostly until then to keep from adding fuel to the fire of the suspicions of his family's relationship to Julieta, Gallus does speak up to divert the subject to another topic concerning what happened on Mars which had to be discussed, "Miss Juris, we have come to understand that you have also come to defeat a Mobile Armor."

It was a lead-in to the topic of the possible Order she obtained, something which seemed to make Baklazan and Falk bristle, while Iok and Rustal seemed supportive. While Julieta and Iok had not gotten along previously, her actions saving him on Mars have made him far friendlier towards her and she has spent the time since in his good graces. As such, when prompted he had testified on her behalf earlier when going over certain events, as had Rustal, even though both only were asked about objective matters for the most part, with Rustal being asked additionally of her personal traits to which he praised her loyalty.

While she was being offered the topic on a silver platter, Julieta humbly bowed her head and deflected the distinction placed upon her, for in truth she did not believe the credit lay solely with her, "With the aid of Lord Bauduin I defeated the Mobile Armor known as Hashmal."

Baklazan brings up a contradiction between her statement and Gaelio's before her, "He has told us that you deserve the credit for its defeat. Is this true?"

Julieta continued to act humbly, though it was humbleness born of feeling like she did not entirely deserve something rather than normal modesty, "Yes, though I believe the honor belongs with Lord Rustal or Lord Bauduin rather than a normal soldier such as myself."

Falk shakes his head at her statement, brushing aside her thoughts in the face of the reality of the situation, "Gjallarhorn has traditions which we do not break. You defeated the Mobile Armor, which means that the Order belongs with you."

Baklazan nods in agreement, though he does not sound entirely pleased, "The Seven Stars have recently lost the last of the bloodline belonging to the Issue family. While their power has rested in the Fareed family since the passing of Carta Issue, we are still investigating McGillis Fareed's actions and this leaves us without a seventh house."

Gallus nods towards the other two before turning to face Julieta with the smile he was well known for possessing, "Given the traditions of Gjallarhorn, we offer you a position among our ranks as Julieta of the house Juris, should you first be cleared of all charges concerning the death of McGillis Fareed."

Julieta of House Juris...and then, maybe, Bauduin.

The thought makes her blush, though fortunately for her the bowed position she was in hides this from the others.

"I do not know what to say, my Lords."

Baklazan notices her hesitance however and addresses it, "Do you wish for this distinction? If you would not like to possess such a responsibility you do not need to."

"I..."

She was a soldier at heart, someone who did as she was told and carried out those orders to the best of her ability. To be a leader would be to be the one _giving_ those orders, and that was not something she was entirely sure she was ready for.

 _However_...it could mean possessing far more power than she ever could as a mere soldier. It would be a sacrifice of herself, but one which could aid those she cared for.

Standing as tall as she could, Julieta stares at the Seven Stars council looking down upon her fiercely as she adopts a far more authoritative voice.

"I accept."

* * *

After her own first and only hearing for the day, Julieta leaves unhindered and is led by Gaelio over to a private room that has been fashioned for him during his stay on Earth. Once the door is closed and they are sufficiently inside of the office with closed windows, Gaelio grabs Julieta by the hips and lifts her up into a deep kiss, which Julieta cuts off with a hand and starts to object when Gaelio rolls his eyes at her.

"Don't worry, no-one can see or hear us here. I learned how to sweep for surveillance bugs when I was a part of the Gjallarhorn Inquisition."

Julieta blushes, feeling bad now that she doubted his competence, "Oh..."

If no-one could see or listen to them though...

Gaelio chuckles into her lips as she acts now as the aggressor and returns the kiss he had first given her, easing into her position by wrapping her legs around him to keep from falling while he shifts his hands up from her rear to being around her abdomen.

The "making out" session does not last too long, however, as a knock on the door leads to Gaelio letting go of Julieta. Had they been in outer space, she would have just drifted away from him, but instead Julieta tumbled off of him and only landed with _some_ grace thanks to her acrobatic skills. The landing still hurt her rear, and so she glares up at Gaelio as he helps her up and they both go to the door.

Julieta learns soon that his sudden reaction came from knowing precisely whose knock that was: his father's. And like a teenaged boy caught having sex by a parent, Gaelio panicked, even though he was older and doing far less scandalous of an action.

Gallus is let inside the room, and once he is in the main area of the large office he grins at his son and Julieta smugly.

"I apologize if you were guarding my son's lips when I interrupted, I only wished to pass along some information."

While Gaelio keeps his calm, Julieta blushes and tries to deny his statement, "I d-don't know what you mean, sir."

Gallus laughs as he looks around the office now fondly, "Miss Juris, I was young once and in love. Part of why I acquired this specific room for my son is that I have fond memories spending time between meetings with my wife here. I have had it tested, and someone screaming cannot even be heard next door from this place."

Gaelio has his face in his palm, while Julieta is left to wonder why such a thing would even be worth testing, "Why would you have that tested?"

Gallus starts to speak, but stops just as he does so to try and mull over how he could tell this poor, naive woman why such information was useful, and also why he was sure now Gaelio would likely burn the furniture even though it had changed since the time Gallus last used it with his wife.

Gaelio clearing his throat is the last hint Julieta needs that it is a matter pertaining to something vulgar, "Oh...m...my apologies for..."

Given his good humored nature Gallus laughs the incident off and pats a hand on his son's shoulder, "I was going to ask if either of you required a meal after today's affair, but I am afraid my poor son will likely not be hungry for quite some time now."

"Father, I walked in on you and mother eighty seven times as a child. I can get over it," Gaelio sighs in response to his father's joke at his expense.

"In any case, I won't bother you two with details about the hearings now after the hours you spent in them, but I did wish to pass along some other information."

That catches both Gaelio and Julieta's attention, with Gaelio being the one to ask his father further about it.

"Oh? What is it?"

Gallus sighs as he thinks back to the message he received from an old friend, "Iznario Fareed has contacted me today and wishes to use what favors he has with me to help him be reinstated as the head of the Fareed family. He seeks to use McGillis' disgrace to gain favor, saying that McGillis framed him wrongfully as a part of his scheming."

"I see..." Gaelio contemplates the matter for a moment before slowly coming to nod, not in agreement so much as in observance of his responding to the idea, "Lord Fareed always did treat me well when I knew him...I cannot begrudge him using McGillis' downfall to restore himself, given how McGillis betrayed him as well, but he _was_ found to be actually guilty of violating Gjallarhorn rules and regulations. Even if some of it was obfuscation on McGillis' part, Iznario still would be disgraced."

His father nods back and lets out a heavy breath, "He was always a good friend to me, or else I would never have allowed you to befriend that devil of a child of his. McGillis has lived up to his status as a bastard, and it is a shame Iznario did not have a legitimate heir who could have taken the mantle of being his successor to the Fareed family name."

That was something Gaelio had always wondered about, McGillis and where he came from, but his friend had been decidedly quiet about the subject and it was not something he pressed upon previously. Now, perhaps, would be a time to indulge himself in whoever McGillis' mother was and the background behind his 'friend' which produced the monster he would become. Perhaps by learning more about McGillis Gaelio could come to understand him and his betrayal better, rather than the sudden non-sequitur it had been.

Gallus continues to speak still with a heavy voice, "Without him, each of the houses is stronger, so there will be pushback from the others even if I do entertain his request. I just wished to let you know of this change in affairs, as he is really pushing to take back his place now as the top official of Gjallarhorn."

Taking this new information into account, Gaelio lets out a heavy breath as well as he comes to agree with his father's assessment, "Thank you, Father."

Julieta was less sure what this all meant, but she supposed it would soon be her business too who and who wasn't a Seven Star member. As the topic comes to a close however Gallus turns to leave, waving the other two goodbye.

"I will leave you two be now, for I have a follow-up meeting with the other Seven Stars that I ought to be preparing for."

With him gone, Julieta asks Gaelio something that has been hanging on her mind.

"Do you think today went well?"

Gaelio shrugs as he leans against a wall in the office, "Given the evidence in our favor, the chances are that we will be cleared of any wrongdoing, though it may take some time to become official."

"And then we're done?"

He grins at her naive question, knowing that they were nowhere close to being done, "Far from it. This incident will be used in the future by those who seek to oppose us. A permanent mark against the two of us for, after all, we _did_ act in a questionable manner which resulted in the death of a member of the Seven Stars. How can _we_ be trusted, even if we are cleared of wrongdoing?"

This makes Julieta frown, though at least it seems they will not be punished for their actions. Julieta would despise being court-martialed for taking action against a traitor, even if that traitor happened to be a member of the Seven Stars.

That topic covered though, Julieta inquires about something else that has been on her mind since she had been told she would be receiving a place among the Seven Stars.

"If we get married what would happen to my 'House'?"

Gaelio laughs at her sudden change in topic, "It would become a part of my own, more well-established family. They would fuse, in essence, to become stronger. You would, however, still have a place on the Seven Stars council since you would still represent your own power."

Julieta nods to this, though says nothing further on the matter. She still had to wrap her head around the whole situation and had to spend time comprehending it. Said comprehension was cut short when Gaelio straightened his posture and stopped leaning on the wall, as if he was about to go somewhere.

"Where are you going?"

Captured by fleeting whimsy, Gaelio admits his destination to his lover, "To see a friend. I talk to him every day, and I have not had the opportunity yet today, so I may as well before we are made busy with other affairs."

It took a moment for her to sift through what he said, but Julieta came to realize quickly that he was speaking of his friend, Ein, who had saved his life on numerous occasions and now was inside of his mobile suit.

Gaelio grins as he notices Julieta fall into step right beside him on the way out.

"Coming, are we?"

"It's my duty to come. I am your subordinate and sworn bodyguard now, after all."

Gaelio smirking amusedly at her makes Julieta frown, as she picks up that she has made him want to laugh and he's restraining himself.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Gaelio lied, still grinning down at her.

Julieta prods his chest with a finger, her face now in a childish pout, "You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

Gaelio took her hand softly and held it in his own as he lowered himself down to kiss her on the forehead, "I just find it amusing that you think you need to come up with a reason to just come with me," she blushes as he pulls her into his chest and hugs her, "Julieta, I wish to share my life with you, I am not going to hide a dear friend from you. You're more than welcome to come as Julieta the woman I love rather than Julieta the soldier whose job it is to protect me."

Feeling cozy in his warm embrace, Julieta leans her head against him while now grinning herself, "Then I shall go as both."

That brings him to actually laugh, and she smiles up at him as he appreciates her oddness, and soon the two are on their way again and leave the office behind. As they do so, Julieta finds herself relieved to see Gaelio showing such emotion, as she has seen how cold he has become after his near death at the hands of McGillis, but now...now he seemed fine, better even, around her.

He didn't say it verbally, but Julieta got a feeling that maybe just like how she lived to serve Rustal Elion as his subordinate, maybe now...well, maybe Gaelio found a renewed sense of purpose and life in her.

As Gaelio began to lead Julieta to where his mobile suit is they are interrupted almost instantaneously once again by someone with purple hair.

"Big brother!"

Gaelio tilts his head, not remembering bringing his sister along with them as she rushes up to him and hugs him around the waist, "Almiria, what are you doing here?"

Almiria's voice is one of worry, of fear, as she explains herself, "I asked Father if I could come see you after your hearing and he said you were here. Is everything going to be okay? Father wouldn't tell me..."

No, things were not okay yet, for there was still a lot of politics at play and there would be for quite some time, but Gaelio was not about to ruin his sister's mood further and make her worry about that sort of thing so he rustled her hair with a hand while he used the other to hug her back.

"Yes, it will. You don't need to cry anymore, Almiria."

Julieta notices that Gaelio's uniform is growing wet where Almiria is pressing her eyes up against on his abdomen, and it makes Julieta feel bad to see the nice girl so distraught. She was genuinely worried that her brother might have been in trouble...

"I miss Macky..."

"I know you do. I miss who I thought he was too, but, alas, he never truly existed."

His voice reveals the mixture of feelings he has on the matter, in one part revealing his pain, and in another revealing his cold anger at having been betrayed by someone he trusted his life with.

Still, he did not want to make his sister cry any further, and so he forces a smile and invites her to come join him and Julieta.

"Almiria, why don't you come with me and Julieta? We're going to see a friend of mine. I can't promise it'll cheer you up, but I owe this friend my life."

This information surprises her, but Almiria readily agrees, eager to meet such a good friend of her brother's.

Julieta, on the other hand, was bracing herself for her first meeting with Ein Dalton and whatever that might entail.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thank you for reading, and if you have any thoughts they would be most appreciated in the reviews below.**_


	9. Sacrifice

"Ein, I would like you to meet Julieta Juris and my sister Almiria. You've seen Julieta before, but I don't think you've met Almiria."

The private hangar the Kimaris, still in its Vidar configuration, rests in at Gjallarhorn HQ is quiet and empty when Gaelio brought Julieta and Almiria there. Julieta had an idea of what was going on, given what Gaelio had told her so far, but Almiria was quite unaware of Gaelio's cyborg friend.

"Where is he?" Almiria asked, looking around the empty hangar to try and find this elusive friend of Gaelio's.

"He's here," Gaelio reassured her, not explaining himself as he approached the Kimaris and brought out a hand to touch it.

Almiria raises an eyebrow as she thinks that Gaelio meant that his friend is inside the suit's cockpit, "Where? In the robot?"

Gaelio grins as he lowers his head down to touch the Gundam, his grin being one of sadness rather than amusement thanks to his eyes, "Yes...he is."

Julieta feels her heart sink as she hears his defeated tone. It may have been quite some time, but the wounds of losing his friends hung heavily on him all the same, showing the depth and sincerity of his character while also explaining his pain.

"Gaelio..."

Looking back at Almiria a moment, Gaelio soon turned back to the Kimaris and let his grief flow through him, "Because of my weakness he..."

* * *

 _"McGillis!"_

 _Medical staff were startled as the once dying soldier they recovered from the battlefield of Edmonton surged up from the medical table he lay on and reached forward as if to grab controls that weren't there._

 _With a shaking arm before him, Gaelio Bauduin paused as he realized he no longer was in the Kimaris Trooper, but rather was somewhere else entirely._

 _He had lost to McGillis. That attack from that red suit had stabbed to the side of his cockpit, but the resulting damage, shrapnel, and other fallout from it..._

 _"I..."_

 _McGillis was free to act with impunity, free to betray Gjallarhorn and aid those Tekkadan rats as he pleases, murdering any ally who gets in his way for whatever demented vision he had._

 _Pain wracking his body, Gaelio got up and pushed himself off the medical table as he slammed a fist down on it, "Damn it!"_

 _The medical staff in the room shared glances with one another, unsure of how to act or what to say to the not dead heir to the Bauduin family. They had been ordered to write up records of him dying, so despite their efforts to keep him alive they had been thinking that he might actually still die, but here he was standing even with gashes across his body and his body still wounded from the battle._

 _In a rush to find his former friend before he could do any more damage, Gaelio grabbed the nearest doctor and pulled them closer to himself in a tactless and thus seemingly threatening manner, "Where is McGillis?"_

 _"L-Lord Fareed is at the Bauduin residence."_

 _They didn't know...Gaelio felt his anger boil ever higher as he realized that McGillis was free to go visit his family after having first tried to murder him to take his place as heir to their power._

 _"Sir, you are not fit to leave!"_

 _The medical staff tried to get in Gaelio's way as he stormed out towards the door, ignoring his wounds to instead focus on how he was going to properly murder McGillis for his villainy._

 _Stopping in his tracks though, Gaelio came to realize something._

 _McGillis hadn't finished him off._

 _"I..."_

 _He brought a hand to his body and felt where he had been impaled or otherwise wounded._

 _Was McGillis such a fool that he had not bothered to finish the job?_

 _"I'm alive."_

 _The only other explanation Gaelio could come up with at the time was that someone had intervened and stopped McGillis from making sure he was dead..._

 _"Did Ein save me again?"_

 _One of the doctors spoke up, knowing of this Ein Gaelio spoke of._

 _"Ein Dalton was defeated at Edmonton by the Gundam designated Barbatos."_

 _So that Gundam that McGillis let escape from Gaelio, the one who had murdered Carta, they had fought Ein at Edmonton and beat him as well?_

 _"Defeated?" Gaelio grabbed the one who spoke up as he growled, "Tell me, is Ein alive!?"_

 _"His cockpit was impaled, his body is in a healing tank but there isn't anything we can do to undo the damage he sustained."_

 _"Where is he!?" Gaelio yelled, in no mood to mince words._

 _"Please, Lord Bauduin, you must calm down. You need to—"_

 _Gaelio forced and shoved his way through them all in blind anger, pushing past them so that he could find Ein and see if they were telling the truth about his condition, "To hell with you!"_

 _With what McGillis did, Ein felt like the only friend Gaelio had left in the world, and he refused to be apart from him while he was suffering in pain._

* * *

"First I lost to those Alaya-Vijnana soldiers because I could not overcome their modifications, and so Ein was grievously wounded protecting me from death. Then I let McGillis take him, thinking he could help save him," Gaelio stared forward, his face blank as he recounted his failures and what they had caused, "Instead he turned him into a monster. He turned the loyal friend I once had into a near mindless cyborg who only could fight and hate."

He paused when he felt Almiria hug him around his side, and after briefly touching her head and brushing some hair out of her eyes he looked back up to the Kimaris, his voice guilty.

"And now I've done it myself."

* * *

 _"Ein..."_

 _Inside a special rejuvenation tank was Ein Dalton, or rather what remained of him after he was run through by the blade of the Gundam Barbatos, his dying body being kept just barely stable as his life readings tick down closer to death bit by bit._

 _Gaelio brought a hand out to touch the tank, his eyes filled with tears as he was shown just what Ein had become after McGillis and their enemies had their way with him, "Those Tekkadan brats...look at what they have done to you..."_

 _All of this for McGillis' plans...to frame his father, he would transform Ein into a mechanical beast, and then set him up to be defeated and killed by Tekkadan so that they could be seen as heroes..._

 _The pain of not only losing a friend but it being because of the betrayal and machinations of another tugged at Gaelio and ripped from him the strength he had possessed in anger._

 _Sinking against the large device that was essentially the Graze Ein's cockpit fused with a normal rejuvenation tank, Gaelio spoke to his subordinate inside of it, "Ein...please, don't leave me...I couldn't save Carta...I can't take losing you too._ _You've done so much for me..."_

 _While wiping away tears, Gaelio took a seat on the ground beside the tank, leaning himself right up against it and getting as close as he could to Ein, unable to do anything but be there with him and make sure he was not alone as he died._

 _"But if this is the place you are to die, I'll be here...I'll be by your side..."_

 _McGillis was still free, but Gjallarhorn seemed to not know what happened yet and so he wasn't going to ruin his own cover. McGillis could wait now that the fighting had died down, but Ein...Gaelio sighed as he realized Ein would likely not make it through the day given his injuries._

 _"Perhaps this doesn't need to be the end of his story."_

 _Someone else had entered the room and Gaelio looked up to find himself now in the presence of Rustal Elion, one of Gjallarhorn's most powerful members and one of the most influential of the Seven Stars._

 _"Rustal Elion..."_

 _Why was he here?_

 _Rustal approached Gaelio and the rejuvenation tank, standing beside where Gaelio still sat,_ _"With a body like this, perhaps something could be done for him."_

 _Gaelio rose to his feet as he began to understand maybe why Rustal was here given his words, "Done for him?"_

 _"He is already as much machine as he is man. If we use his brain, he could live on even though his body cannot," Rustal explained simply, his voice calm and his face remaining so even as he was grabbed by the neck and hoisted up by Gaelio, who ignored his own pain as he sought to bring it upon this man who dared mock Ein like this._

 _"I already let one man turn him into a monster, I won't let another take what little he has left!"_

 _Gaelio threw Rustal's large body back, with the leader of the Arianrhod Fleet stumbling and catching himself a few feet back. Rustal did not seem perturbed at all by this, instead just straightening himself out as he rose back to his full height and addressed Gaelio again._

 _"Your anger is justified, but misplaced. This is the last chance your subordinate has at living. Would you let him die for your pride, or for his?"_

 _That halted Gaelio in his tracks both mentally and physically._

 _Ein was going to die, nothing would stop that this time...but..._

 _He looked back at the tank and thought of what would be best for Ein. Would he accept such a horrible fate if it meant to live on? Would he want to just be lain to rest once and for all?_

 _To now know what he let McGillis do and to be asked to let now someone else do so to Ein rankled Gaelio, forced into a position of life and death of a friend, with life meaning to torment his trusted comrade for possibly the rest of his existence by reducing him even further than the limbless body he had become, or to allow him to die even in spite of all he owed his friend..._

 _Was it better to be merciful or to give him a chance at living again, even if it meant to torment Ein even more than he had already been in life?_

 _"I won't fool you like McGillis did to transform him into this. Ein Dalton's brain will be hooked up to a machine and it would operate as a computer might, but it would be life all the same."_

 _Rustal was not hiding the truth from him, and so Gaelio found himself ingratiated to the man. He had seen Arianrhod symbols in the facility as he stumbled around to find Ein, and so it must have been Rustal's forces who saved him...and from the sound of it, he might even know of McGillis' crimes to some degree._

 _The man was known for his embodiment of the current order of Gjallarhorn and his ruthlessness, but here he was offering Gaelio and Ein both another chance...even emotional, Gaelio was left to wonder how this would help Rustal, but he could not say he was not grateful for being alive and for Rustal having protected them both._

 _But that didn't make it any easier to sign away Ein's life._

 _Gaelio looked over at Ein's remains and winced, wishing he could hear what Ein thought...wishing then that he could know what Ein truly wanted._

 _"The Kimaris was heavily damaged in at Edmonton, but we have recovered it. It would take some work, but perhaps he can one day fight at your side again. And maybe one day he could have a body of his own given our improving medical technologies, but preserving his brain is preferable to losing him forever, is it not? The Alaya-Vijnana system connects the body with the mind of a Mobile Suit. We do not have at our fingertips an alternative surgery or solution right now, so it is up to you...will you entomb your subordinate so that he might one day live again, or will you let him die?"_

* * *

"You made the right decision."

Gaelio's eyes snapped open as Julieta spoke to him. He turned around to see her staring up at the Kimaris seriously, as if contemplating something herself.

"If I lost everything I had, if I was reduced to the brink of death and could live again, I would," Julieta explains, her voice becoming quiet, "Even if it meant sacrificing what little I had left."

Taking a more confident voice, Almiria turned to Gaelio and spoke in the almost reprimanding voice she would use towards Iok.

"You know that he must have been furious at what they did to him. You wouldn't be the only one seeking vengeance. If he could talk I am sure he would tell you of how he wanted that battle with Tekkadan. That, if he could, he would give everything he still had not only to fight them, but to protect the man he sacrificed his life for. That if he could still serve you he would."

Her words leave Gaelio speechless as he stares at her, giving Julieta time to look back at the Gundam and speak to it.

"Isn't that right...Ein."

There is no response obviously, but Gaelio grins all the same.

"I think you two could have been brother and sister..."

Speaking of brothers and sisters, Almiria looks up at her brother and asks a question on her mind since learning her family's Gundam has become a cyborg.

"Will he ever be able to talk?"

Gaelio let out a breath as he looked down to Almiria, "It was difficult enough to both sustain his life and tie him into the systems of the Kimaris...some day, perhaps they will be able to give him a voice, but for now..."

Julieta finished his statement for him, "Him being alive matters more than him speaking."

Beside Gaelio, Almiria reached a hand out and touched the metal of the Kimaris' frame, in essence 'touching' Ein or rather the suit of armor he was encased within.

"Mister Ein?" she asks, her voice small and weak, "I don't know if you can hear me, but...thank you for keeping my brother safe."

Gaelio brought an arm around his sister affectionately even in spite of the guilt and pain he felt then, "Almiria..."

Still speaking to 'Ein', Almiria looks close to tears as she asks a favor of the machine, "Please keep Gaelio and Miss Julieta safe, okay?"

Using his arm around her, Gaelio picked up his sister and brought her into his arms gently, bringing his head down to touch hers.

"You don't have to worry, Almiria. Ein won't let anything happen to me."

Almiria looked up at the mobile suit again with sad eyes, "He must be lonely in there."

As someone well acquainted with loneliness, it seemed she felt sympathy for Ein as he sat within the Kimaris's confines, his life sustained by and within the suit's many systems, unable to speak and do anything but aid Gaelio in piloting it.

To try and cheer her up, Gaelio came up with an idea that might help Almiria's loneliness as well as give Ein something else to live for within the Kimaris, "Well, why don't you come talk to him when I'm home? I'm sure he would enjoy having more than just me for company."

For a child, the idea of talking to a robot-person was quite enamoring, even if it was odd, but the horrific aspects of having flesh tied into machinery were lost upon the young girl. As such, her eyes lit up at the idea of having this giant robot-cyborg friend to speak to, "Really?"

"I can't promise he'll be much of a conversationalist though, but if you need someone to talk to, he's a good listener."

Speaking of listening, Gaelio heard Almiria's stomach growl, and he grinned at his sibling who came to blush at the loud nature of her hungry stomach.

"It sounds like you skipped lunch to come see us."

Almiria continued to blush in embarrassment as her brother gave her a smug grin, "Maybe."

"Let's go fix that then. I could use something to eat as well," Gaelio laughed as he shifted her around so that he could carry her easier while walking, "Don't eat too much if you want me to carry you again though. You're getting heavy."

"I'm not heavy. Ladies aren't heavy," Almiria huffed, disliking the idea that she was heavy and thus fat.

Carrying Almiria away, Gaelio waved back to his mobile suit, "I'll be back later, Ein," turning his head aside, he looked back to it in quiet contemplation, "Thank you...for everything."

Unlike Gaelio though, Julieta did not move, and was still as she was staring up at the Kimaris as if captivated by it.

"Coming Julieta?"

Julieta shook her head without even turning back to Gaelio, still looking at the Kimaris.

"I'll catch up. You go."

With Gaelio and Almiria leaving, Julieta was left alone with 'Ein', or rather the machine he was encased within. There was a lot to think about with the subject of Ein Dalton's mortality and his current life, if it could be considered that.

From what she had learned from Gaelio though, what was foremost on Julieta's mind was that this man was just like her.

"Apparently you and I are alike."

Twice Ein Dalton had sacrificed himself for Gaelio, and now he lived on as the very instrument Gaelio used, the sword and shield with which he could change the world.

Thinking of herself, Julieta knew that at her very core she desired to be the same for Rustal Elion, the man she owed everything to. Ein Dalton had and would continue to give everything he could to Gaelio as his loyal retainer, even beyond the point others would have submitted and died.

If Gaelio was a man worthy of such respect, Julieta found herself growing even fonder of him, while finding this man before her to be a kindred spirit she could respect fully.

"You protected Gaelio with your life the way I would protect Master Rustal," she smiled as she realized all that Gaelio surviving until now meant, "I am indebted to you. Without you, I never would have met Gaelio..."

"And now I know why Gaelio's piloting is so beautiful. You gift him your strength, your arms and your legs so that he may rise above his foes and return safely."

Julieta lowered herself into a respectful bow to what she saw as an equal, even if the rest of the world would scorn him for what he had become.

"I will do everything I can to protect Gaelio as well now, and it will be an honor to do so at your side."

With that, she departed the hangar to catch up with those she might one day call family, a family she never would have had if not for the life and limb sacrifices of her fellow soldier.

Thinking herself superstitious at first, Julieta felt that there was a dimming of light as she departed, as if the optics of the Kimaris had been on but now were resting.

Perhaps Ein did hear them after all.

* * *

 _"Specialist Major Bauduin is a very reliable man."_

 _..._

 _"You gave me the legs that allowed me to rise again. I can't leave you to die."_

 _..._

 _"I don't care how others see me. I just believe in myself."_

* * *

 ** _A/N: Special thanks to_ _Shinn, Spirit of Justice, Kaiser Chris, Fyrstorm, FumiRevive, and Angel-no-Crux for reviewing last chapter and for your support, as it's really helped get me back into the swing of things writing._**

 ** _I'm adding "Gaelio isn't 100% okay after killing McGillis" to things I called, though to be honest it was a pretty obvious thing to call. Happy "McGillis died today" everyone!_**

 ** _Also, if you like Gaelio and you like UC Gundam, my story All Hail Zeon might be a good read as well! It's centered around Garma, who Gaelio's based off of, so check it out if you get the chance and want more Gundam content._**

 ** _Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear your thoughts in the reviews below!_**


	10. Loss

_**A/N: Special thanks to FumiRevive, Shinn, Spirit of Justice, and Yukidatte1 for your reviews last chapter, and your support is much appreciated.**_

 _ **Also, we did it guys! Gaelio/Julieta is canon! They survived the show!**_

 _ **Anyways, I hope you all enjoy, and I hope to hear your thoughts in the reviews below!**_

* * *

Sitting through meeting after meeting and hearing after hearing about the battle on Mars began to grow tiresome to Gaelio, who wished they would stop playing politics and dragging this out and instead just go ahead and do what they all knew they would do and clear him of all charges. While things were less certain for Julieta, everything also seemed to be in favor of her being let off as well.

Things had progressed enough that they were allowed to resume their duties as Gjallarhorn officers, though in a limited capacity: Gaelio would be allowed to continue his work as an inspector, resuming his duties as a Specialist Major with word of a coming promotion for his role in foiling a traitor's plot, but unlike when he and McGillis worked together he was going to be doing it all on his own...save for his bodyguard, Julieta. Less personnel would mean less ability to actually do anything and have the resources to accomplish things, but it was what Gaelio would have to work with for the time being.

In the office assigned for his use in Gjallarhorn headquarters Gaelio was busy preparing for a trip the following day when Iok came in excitedly, making Gaelio learn that he shouldn't have left the door open a couple minutes ago thinking Julieta would be there soon.

The leader of the Kujan family smiles brightly at his fellow Seven Stars member from across the office as he comes over towards its desk where Gaelio was doing his preparation work.

"How are you doing today, Gaelio?"

Familiar. Casual.

Gaelio blinks at Iok as he tries to think of why the man would be dropping by and acting like this. He nods in affirmation of Iok's arrival, and fights the urge to tell the man to depart as hastily as he entered.

"Iok. Is there something you need?"

Iok laughs at the thought, which just confirms to Gaelio that he _does_ want something, though _what_ still remained unknown.

"No, not at all. I just wanted to see how my friend was doing after everything."

A word he used brings Gaelio to pause, staring forth at Iok in disbelief.

"Friend."

The one word said by Gaelio gives Iok some worry, as it was said without emotion either way. Did Gaelio not consider them friends after their battles together?

Silence hung for some time before Gaelio lowered his gaze from Iok down to the desk where atop it sat a picture frame of himself and the blonde haired man he once considered his best friend. The one who had spent years pretending and scheming before ultimately turning on Gaelio and attempting to murder him in cold blood...the man who now, as a result of those actions, lay dead and who was under investigation post-mortem to discern just how deep his conspiracies went.

Friendship came easily to Gaelio: everyone wanted to be his friend thanks to his status, and his personality fostered good relations with those around him. What did _not_ come easily was possessing true friends who would be there for him even if he were someone else, even if he was from a background like Ein or had as little as he did in life.

Gaelio thought he had someone he could trust everything in, and that trust had been repaid with betrayal _over something Gaelio agreed with McGillis on_.

If only McGillis had the patience, then maybe they could have changed Gjallarhorn together without resorting to murder and what would amount to a coup.

How many would have died for McGillis' misguided ambitions to force change faster than the world was able to keep up? What had his murder of Carta actually accomplished?

"I once considered McGillis my friend. I thought I understood him. I thought I could trust him with my life."

Iok froze for a second before coming to frown as he heard Gaelio speak. The thought of what McGillis did to him did not sit well with the Seven Stars member who prided himself both on loyalty and in following Rustal, who had sat in opposition to McGillis. As such, while it was not as personal as it was for Gaelio, Iok possessed a deep hatred of McGillis for being essentially everything he could hate in a person.

Unlike Gaelio, Iok wasn't left with the question of _why_ which now haunted the heir to the Bauduin family.

"I will not do you the disservice of what McGillis did to me..."

Gaelio shut his eyes to think a moment, then brought his blue eyes up to meet Iok's brown ones.

"We are not friends. Before I saved your life and defeated McGillis and the Mobile Armor you looked down upon me without knowing who I was. Perhaps it was a direct result of you not knowing, but it does not change that we were not friends before, we were not friends when I was Vidar, and we are not suddenly friends in spite of those facts."

Verbally dressing down Iok on his change of heart causes the man's expression to deflate and turn into one of sadness, for despite his naive nature Iok seemed to actually comprehend what Gaelio was saying and what he meant.

"I...I understand."

If he were to be honest, Gaelio did not know what to say or do next since things did not turn into an argument, so he was happily surprised when Iok knelt down and bowed before him.

"May I ask something of you though, Gaelio Bauduin?"

So he _did_ want something after all. It seemed that dispensing with the pleasantries forced Iok to confront what he really was there about...

At least, that was what Gaelio thought until Iok spoke again in a manner which actually caught him off-guard.

"From what I have heard and from what I have seen, you are a noble man whom one would be honored to call friend. May I have the chance to become one to you?"

That brought Gaelio to think, as he was not the sort naturally to turn down friendship offered him if it was sincere, but he wasn't sure if it was just yet.

"I have lost my parents some time ago, but I have never lost a friend who I cared for above all others. I have known nothing but loyalty from those around me, and I know you have suffered the opposite. Had I known what had happened to you, I never would have doubted and disrespected you the way I have. A man who dedicates his life to avenge his friends and to protect his family is not a man any person has a right to judge or hold in contempt. You sacrificed everything to bring a villain to justice, and Gjallarhorn stands firmer and safer now in thanks to your actions."

Gaelio sighed as he felt his own animosity towards the snobby man begin to deflate. He was quite the charismatic speaker and his genuine nature was why others were so loyal to him, in addition to his family name.

Still kneeling down, Iok's face turned to one of hurt as he came to reveal what he sought from Gaelio, "I do not believe Lord Rustal has faith in me any longer. You have succeeded where I have failed, and I..." he lets out a breath and looks up at Gaelio over the desk, "I wish to learn from you so that I may best serve his vision."

Iok ends up not being the only one to let out a heavy breath, as Gaelio comes to realize that not only does this serve his political purposes, but that it would likely be better in general to be amiable with his coworker than begrudge him over his previous attitudes.

"I have many things I must attend to these days given all that has happened, but if you would want to follow my example from here on out, I only ask that you do so earnestly."

Hearing that his request to earn Gaelio's friendship was granted, ironically mirroring Gaelio's own courtship with Julieta, Iok stood up and bowed before him in barely contained excitement.

"Thank you, Lord Bauduin!"

Gaelio cracked a grin at how now Iok was being all formal.

"If you are serious in your intentions, you may call me Gaelio."

Inspired to come seek help from Gaelio by feelings of inadequacy and failure as his mentor ignored him, Iok found himself feeling relieved and comforted that Gaelio was not rebuffing him the same way Rustal was.

"Thank you...Gaelio."

* * *

"You eat a lot, Miss Julieta."

It is a simple observation by Almiria at dinner which brings Gaelio to laugh at his last night at their estate before his coming trip, and Julieta blushes as she knows she cannot deny that what was said happened to be completely true. She didn't remember being this hungry in the past, but now...

"I like meat."

Gaelio cracked a grin at her, "I'm well aware of that, which is why I had our staff pick up the best cuts they could for you. We won't be able to eat so well for some time, so you may as well enjoy yourself while you can."

Julieta continues to nervously blush as she alternates between picking at and wolfing down her food in a quite unladylike manner, drawing even more amusement from Gaelio as well as his father, who knew she should probably learn proper manners but couldn't help but be amused by an entire steak disappearing in mere moments. Almiria was between the two members of her family both literally and figuratively, being amused like both her brother and father but not masking it as well as her father.

Seeing Julieta's second steak disappear completely prompted Gallus to grin at his guest, who seemed to like this way of living, "I take it you like the accommodations, Lady Juris?"

Julieta nodded as she gulped down a glass of water, only verbally responding after almost wiping her mouth on her sleeve and coming to eventually wipe it on her napkin awkwardly.

"I enjoy Gaelio's meat and sleeping with him, though it is odd having others wait on me."

Gallus choked on his food while Gaelio sighed and lowered his head in defeat, Julieta having had no idea what she just said.

Almiria, like Julieta, had no idea what was so wrong about what their guest just said aloud and so inquired concerning it, "Why are you blushing big brother?"

Her father cuts in once he settled out his brief choking spell, "When you two return from your duties, I will see about tending to your studies Lady Juris."

That didn't sound all too fun, Julieta thought. What could he mean by that?

"Studies?"

"There are certain customs and practices you will have to abide by as a member of the Seven Stars," Gallus explained in a wise tone, as if adopting a persona, though it soon dropped as he opened his eyes to roll them at Julieta, "Practices which do not include publicly stating things which may be taken in a vulgar manner."

It took her another moment, but Julieta figured out the meaning behind his statement and just went back to picking at her food and then scarfing it down as Gaelio watched in amusement.

With that issue dropped, Gallus returned it to the original conversation point raised by Almiria, adopting a wry grin, "This being said, you do eat a lot. Is there anything you and Gaelio need to tell me?"

While it was meant to be a secret, Julieta mistook the meaning of his statement and came clean with her arrangement with Gaelio bluntly.

"We might be getting engaged."

Gaelio sighing and Julieta's deadpan face make Gallus actually think that she was serious...at least for a moment, at which point the man laughed and grinned at what he thought to be a joke.

 _Surely_ Gaelio hadn't managed to get her to agree to that so soon. After all, it was _Gaelio_ who had always run away from marriage proposals and the whole subject when he was younger.

"You had me there for a moment."

Gaelio began to speak to explain that yes, she was just joking, since he didn't want Almiria knowing and accidentally spilling the secret sometime, but Julieta cut him off since she was beginning to feel that his father, IE his 'superior officer' should know about it.

"Gaelio proposed to me...or rather proposed to maybe propose to me, if I feel like it."

Admitting defeat, Gaelio was determined to have a talk with Julieta just to be absolutely certain she knew what _'do not tell anyone'_ meant. Sure, his father was no problem, but Almiria in her naivete could prove to be.

As such, Gaelio addressed her directly with a serious glance, "Almiria, don't tell anyone."

The grinning child nodded, not really having anyone to tell but her stuffed animals anyways, "Okay."

With the attention returning to her, Julieta blushed and looked down at her empty plate, "I haven't made a decision."

Gallus clears his throat, both as a speaking convention and because a bit of when he was choking came back to haunt him and he needed to actually clear it, "Well, it would be an honor to have you as a part of our home."

Almiria grins over at Julieta, still happy to hear that her big brother was engaged finally, or at least was _close_ to being engaged, "Gaelio likes your big thighs, so keep eating meat."

While not one to normally engage in sibling violence given his age difference, Gaelio felt like tackling his sister to the ground and forcibly covering her mouth for what she just said out loud, "Almiria!"

His sister sticks her tongue out at him childishly before adopting a pouting face, "I can notice things! You like her legs and butt, big brother!"

The possible fight is cut off by Gallus clearing his throat again, his eyes shut in a zen-like state as he utters the simple statement of...

"Dinner table."

Gaelio and Almiria calm down and look away from one another, bringing a grin to Julieta's face. It seemed to be a natural sibling spat of sorts, and that felt good to see since Gaelio had been without normalcy for so long. She wanted him to be happy, and even though he was annoyed right now, it was better than shutting himself off from the world.

That, and it amused her that for some reason he liked looking at the only curves she had.

Eventually Gaelio turned his nose up in the air and gave in to his sister's accusation, "Fine, since you brought it up Almiria, I do think maybe, Julieta, you are a bit unhealthily thin and some meat on your bones wouldn't hurt."

It took a moment, but Julieta's response was a simple one.

"Do I get to eat meat?"

"...yes?"

"Okay."

* * *

"What are these?"

Gaelio looked over to see Julieta climbing up on his bed to be beside where he was sitting at one edge, his nimble lover having escaped his notice in the room until then as he mulled over the pictures stored in a long forgotten book within his home.

He grins as he shows what he was holding to Julieta, who smirks devilishly at the sight of a younger Gaelio and pictures of purple haired babies. He really _was_ a sap underneath his facade.

"Photo-albums."

Julieta lets him continue flipping through them, catching sight of Gaelio at various stages in his life be it a child, where she had to say he seemed adorable, and even as a toddler, where she caught sight of a less familiar person.

Seeing Julieta's interest in the other person in a picture with him, Gaelio sighed as he explained it, "My mother and I."

Hearing that makes Julieta go from grinning to frowning, as she could hear hurt in his voice once again.

So that was why he was looking at these...he missed his mother.

The concept of a mother, of motherhood itself, was foreign to Julieta. She didn't remember her own, and while she had plenty of male role models for some reason it didn't seem like cutthroat mercenary deep undercover work was very popular with women and so she was always surrounded by the men Galan Mossa had on his various teams over the years. She never really minded, growing up as 'one of the boys', but it made her wonder just what it was like to have a maternal figure and to lose them...she knew what it was like to lose a paternal figure, but was their a unique bond between mother and child? The way people spoke of them, it sounded so, but it was not something she knew all too much about.

Gaelio sighed as he flipped a page and revealed a few photos more of his mother, who Julieta could see was likely where Gaelio got his softer features from.

The warm look on her face as she looked at her son struck a chord with Julieta, who found maybe some of her questions answered by seeing this. There was something pure and sweet, especially in a photo which had Gaelio as a young child sitting on his mother's lap as she sat beside her husband. Gaelio was more towards her knees that he might have otherwise been, as his mother's stomach had a swelling that was no doubt his soon to be born sister.

It also happened to be the last photo his mother was in within the photo album, and while pictures of baby Almiria were there afterwards, his mother was absent and that seems to be what Gaelio was focused on. Perhaps all this time with his family, of thinking of loss, was drawing him to it.

"She passed away after Almiria was born, but if you knew her before then she was full of life, and you'd think she would like to 100."

He's grinning, but Julieta can hear the sadness in his voice. She wraps her arms around him and tries to offer physical comfort, but she doesn't know what else to say, so out of her depth she was on the subject.

Going back through the album a bit, Gaelio pointed to a page where Julieta recognized a younger McGillis sitting beside Gaelio, he latter eating ice cream as the former read a book. Looking at his onetime friend, if he could actually have ever been considered that in retrospect, actually seems to amuse Gaelio since it was obviously a simpler and happier time.

"I remember that she used to tell me that McGillis was odd and that she wished I would make other friends, but back then I thought that maybe, if I just was a good enough friend to him, he would open up and show me who he was."

Gaelio shuts the album and sighed, at which point he comes to close his eyes and become lost in thought.

"I thought he did, for the longest time..." he's grinning again, though the sorrow remains, "A part of me wanted the kind of friendship I saw in our fathers. My father was like the right hand of Iznario Fareed, the wise and cautious counsel whose agreeableness kept Gjallarhorn from infighting."

He looks over to Julieta, still grinning, "We tend to idealize our idols, don't we?"

Julieta scoffs as she reads the subtext, "Are you trying to say Master Rustal is not as perfect as I think he is?"

"No-one is perfect," Gaelio looks back to the photo album, where happy and painful memories both lay within, "I certainly am not."

"I don't want you to be perfect."

Gaelio's sad mood was twisted to one of amusement as he grins at Julieta's odd statement, his voice sarcastic as he responds to it, "Oh? Is perfection too good for me?"

That wasn't it of course. No, rather it was that Julieta already felt insecure next to Gaelio. He was a skilled pilot, he was tall, handsome, kind, funny...but inside he was also hurt, broken. He could be cold because deep down he didn't want to open himself up to being hurt again. It made him Human, she felt, to not just be the great man who could one day be a major leading force within Gjallarhorn, but the vulnerable soul who had lost his innocence.

"You'd annoy me if you were perfect," Julieta explained in her own way, "I like you how you are."

"Which one? Vidar, or Gaelio?" he jokes, though there is some actual inquiry behind it. She had grown close to him when he had a persona, but now that he was trying to return to how he once was, at least in part...

That was actually something Julieta had pondered herself, since it felt almost like night and day when Gaelio alternated between cold revenge seeker and warm family man.

"I liked how serious you could be as Vidar, but..." she blushes in embarrassment at what she was about to say, "You're really kind as Gaelio Bauduin, and it makes me feel weird. I think you owe me an apology for being so confusing."

Gaelio laughs as he puts the album down and wraps his arms around Julieta, pulling her into a hug and kissing her, which Julieta returned and snaked her arms around his body while Gaelio pulled her around to sit atop his lap.

When their kissing session ending, Gaelio handed the photo album to Julieta to let her go through it as she pleased. The page she opened it to was one which instantly caught her interest, for whereas she had initially intended to mock Gaelio over his baby pictures, now she was left curious about a large photo of Gaelio's mother and father standing across from one another in some public place yelling at one another.

"Why is there a picture of your mother and father arguing?" Julieta questioned, not sure why such a moment would be worthy of being kept.

The reason why was one which amused Gaelio, and so he explained it, "It's a newspaper clipping. My mother was a staunch opponent of Gjallarhorn's direction and the corruption wracking it, so my father, as the public face of it at the time, had to deal with her criticisms himself."

The 'math' of how Gaelio's parents could have possibly become his parents did not check out in Julieta's mind. Didn't you marry people you loved or needed to for political reasons, rather than someone who was leading the organization you were criticizing?

"How did _you_ happen?"

Gaelio chuckled at her way of phrasing 'how did your parents get together', "Well, in arguing with my father she actually came to realize that maybe he wasn't the problem but rather an internal force keeping back a lot more problems from rising up, so they got to meeting on better terms, and eventually my father came to privately reveal all of his agreements with her stances he could never say in public. From there, well..."

Julieta nodded, now understanding more completely his history. What she did _not_ expect however was him to reverse the questioning on her.

"You never talk about your parents."

She frowned as she tried to think of how to explain it, eventually settling on just a bare bones explanation that would have to do for him, "I'm an orphan who the bearded man found. I don't remember all too much, but as far back as I remember he was looking after me," she still was sore about losing him to Tekkadan, but she was at least coming to terms with it, "He and Master Rustal were all I had, and I promised I would always do whatever I could to repay their kindness."

"Do you want to know more about your past?"

Julieta tilted her head as she looked up at him, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I _could_ see about having someone look into your history and find out maybe some things you don't even know..."

Like who her mother was, or who her father was, or why she was an orphan Galan Mossa picked up...or maybe _why_ he came to pick her up, if such a thing could ever be known now that he was dead...

All these possibilities were more than just exciting, they were scary to Julieta. What if she found out something which hurt her? What if her parents abandoned her? What if Galan Mossa hadn't taken her in out of the kindness of his heart? What-if, what-if, what-if...for every possible good thing that might come of unearthing the past, Julieta could think of multiple bad things.

"I don't know..."

"Are you sure?" Gaelio asks as a follow-up, just to be sure but not pressing too hard so as to not pressure her.

Julieta decided to make a joke out of the topic and grinned at him, "Just because I am accepting of your affection doesn't mean I want you to grow frivolous on my behalf."

"Except when it comes to food."

She stuck her tongue out at him like Almiria did before and Gaelio used the opportunity to do something silly and lightly catch her tongue with his teeth, trapping her lips right up against his. Julieta glared at him briefly before accepting the odd invitation and the two went back to kissing, which lasted a fair bit longer as they were growing more used to the process. When it did come to end though Julieta continued to look up at Gaelio, some uncertainty creeping into her voice.

"Gaelio?"

Hearing another side to Julieta other than the serious, near arrogant pilot he knew so well now drew Gaelio's attention, and he gave her a concerned look in the hope that everything was alright.

"What is it?"

"I...I'll make my decision after this mission."

That was a _lot_ sooner than Gaelio had expected...which could both be a good and bad thing, depending on her reasoning for shortening the period of time she had to agree to his proposal.

"Already?"

Julieta looked away sheepishly as she explained herself, "It will be a few weeks, and I know how you'll treat me when we're not on-duty, so all I have left to see is how we can manage when working together."

Gaelio felt relief wash over him as he realized that this meant that, as far as home life was concerned, he seemed to have passed whatever test she had in mind, "Okay."

"I have a question though."

"Oh? What is it?"

Julieta returned to grinning like a devil, "Was Almiria right?"

Gaelio knew exactly what she meant, but he tried to avoid the subject all the same, "About what? Knowing my sister, chances are the answer is no though."

"Do you really like my... _appearance_?"

He rolls his eyes as he senses a bit of insecurity to her question now, "If you are asking if I find you beautiful, yes, I do. You know that, and that opinion won't change," looking at her small body, he cracks a grin of his own, "Though I think the word I would use for you is 'cute'."

Being called cute makes Julieta feel like a child, and so she huffs at him, "Cute girls don't have large hips, and from the sound of things you like those."

Julieta sat with her arms crossed for about ten seconds before she realized she was not hearing a counter argument to this.

"Isn't this where you deny it and call your sister foolish?"

"Well...she's not wrong."

To try and compliment him back, Julieta poked his cheek with a finger while also looking away with a blush, "Well, you're handsomer than I had imagined..." a thought crosses her mind as she glances up at Gaelio's handsome, near beautiful, features, "I look kind of like a boy I've heard, and you look kind of like a lady, so what will happen if we have children?"

The odd places her mind could take her always managed to amuse Gaelio, and so he lowered a hand to her lower abdomen playfully to touch it, "A roll of the dice, I would say. We won't know until we try."

Looking downwards and thinking ahead, Julieta asked something that made Gaelio nearly choke like his father at dinner, "Will ten suffice?"

"T...ten?"

Julieta nods as she brings up the heir issue again, "One heir and if they are unlucky like Miss Carta or dumb like Iok and the bloodline would die out. Two, and McGillis could happen easily by killing one and marrying another, so the more the better."

Gaelio followed her logic, but still found himself a bit overwhelmed by her... _generosity_ , "Okay, so why ten?"

"It's a simple number and I don't yet have a reason to want any less."

He really ought to have expected such a simple answer, but Gaelio cracked a grin all the same, "Try having a few first."

"If I am going to agree to marry you, I need to know the conditions. So ten?"

She sounded serious and so Gaelio shrugged, accepting whatever number she would choose that was above the number zero, "However many you wish for."

"Ten," Julieta stated in a final manner, as if the issue was settled and forever set in stone now.

"You sound determined."

Julieta turned her nose up and crossed her arms, "There's nothing wrong with being prepared."

"Julieta?"

The sudden seriousness in Gaelio's tone in what had been a serious conversation snapped Julieta's attention up to Gaelio, who was no longer looking amused.

"I lost my mother. I am not going to lose you too."

So he was afraid that she would die...funny, given their line of work.

But still...

Julieta shook her head and pointed over at Gaelio's pillow on the bed in the dark room.

"You should sleep."

The deliberate attempt to dodge the conversation with a non-sequitur amused him a bit even if he had been serious moments before, "What?"

"When you are tired you get sadder. You have to report back to Gjallarhorn tomorrow anyways, so sleep."

Gaelio dragged Julieta down with him on the bed, at which point he placed his head against her chest playfully, "Only if I can do so on the softest pair of pillows I've slept upon."

With him acting juvenile, Julieta was left at a loss of what to do, especially since she didn't _mind_ per say...

"Gaelio..."

Soon she'd know whether or not she wanted this to be permanent...but if Julieta were to be honest, she already knew the answer as she wrapped her arms around Gaelio and curled up into him to sleep. His dragging of the nicest blankets she had ever slept with over them both only made the warm feeling in her chest grow deeper, and she found herself actually a bit reluctant to leave this behind the next day to instead return back to military duty. Still, it was her job and so she would fulfill it...right alongside the man she loved.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I hope you all enjoyed, and I hope to hear your thoughts in the reviews below!**_


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